


Megamorphs: The Wizarding World

by Typhoonboom08



Series: Magical Animorphs [1]
Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Post Animorphs Book 23, set during The Deathly Hallows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 122,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27874361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Typhoonboom08/pseuds/Typhoonboom08
Summary: Horror strikes as the Yeerks discover the wizards. However, thanks to the war, infesting them is moving very slowly. Determined to stop them quickly, the Animorphs go to London, with the morphing cube and the determination to infuriate two tyrants.
Series: Magical Animorphs [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2176377
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	1. Jake

**Author's Note:**

> //Equals Thoughspeak.//

My name is Jake.

If you’re reading this, then I don’t have to tell you much about the invasion that I fight against by now. See our previous adventures if you don’t know the terms Yeerk, Andalite, Chee and so on. Sorry, but it seems pointless to write about them at the beginning of every adventure.

I was actually enjoying my day completely morph free for once. Now that’s something that usually doesn’t happen. Normally, I’ve morphed at least once by now and I have to admit that it was nice staying in my own skin. We’d had a lot of big and tiring missions right after the other lately. We had to protect the rediscovered morphing cube and deal with a new Animorph that went off the deep end while saving six of the world leaders from the Yeerks in a place that’s security made Fort Knox look like a public park before Visser Three discovered that Tobias was Elfangor’s son and tried to see if he was connected to the ‘Andalite Bandits’ at the same time we had to save a young Hork-Bajir before the Yeerks could find the Valley he’d come from. In mere weeks, I’ve probably aged five years from the stress.

So, naturally, I jumped on the first bit of free time I got. And what better way is there then wiping the floor with Marco in a game of basketball?

“And Marco comes in for the shot. Look at those moves, look at that style, look-”

“At how easy Jake steals the ball.” I smirked, knocking the ball away right as he was in the middle of showing off. Throwing my body in between him and the ball as he tried to take it back, I took a shot and cheered as it sailed right into the net above the garage door. “Yeah, that makes ten points for Jake and two points for Marco.”

“Aww, how did you talk me into this again?” Marco groaned, grabbing the ball as it rolled away. “I mean, it’s a beautiful day! Can’t we spend it inside playing video games?” He grinned.

“Oh yeah, that’s a great way to spend the best day in over a week.” I snorted, giving him a smirk. “Besides, you only wanna do that because you kick my butt at video games as well as I kick yours on the basketball field, you little game freak.”

“Oh, now you’re bringing my height into it?” He cried, dropping the ball and crossing his arms in mock anger. “Low blow, dumb jock.” He added, turning his head away from me, his nose held high.

“I’ll give you dumb jock!” I cried dramatically, leaping at him. He had just enough time to move his arms up and grasp at mine before I collided with him and shoved him onto the grass. We couldn’t help the laughter coming from our mouths as we rolled around, trying to one up each other. Marco was quick thinking and used the momentum of our fall to roll on top of me, but my height and strength advantage easily allowed me to switch our positions. He twisted his arms out of my grip and shoved my shoulders in an attempt to dislodge me, nearly succeeding too, but I just sat down on his stomach and grabbed his wrists, forcing them on the ground by his head. “I win.” I said smugly, my grin only growing as he tried vainly to wiggle his way free.

“Actually, I think I do.” A cocky voice called from the door to my house. Marco and I whipped our heads around just in time to see Tom with a camera in hand before it flashed. “Nice shot.” He commented, checking his work as I jumped off Marco. “A very suggestive picture. I wonder how many comments I’ll get when I put it up on the internet?”

“Don’t you dare.” I growled, stomping right over to him. “Or I’ll put up bath time Tommy photos. And there’s not a thing covering you in them.” I added, smirking as my brother’s face turned annoyed.

“What, does it hit a nerve?” He asked, trying to get back in control. “Is there more truth to this shot than I thought?”

“You’re suggesting that I have a crush on Jake?” Marco cried, waving his arms wildly in the air as a mischievous smile grew on his face. “No way! I’d never dream of pulling him away from the love of his life, the beautiful, kind, poop and overalls clad Cassie. What kind of guy wouldn’t want a girl like that? Cute and gross at the same time. The perfect picture of heaven. Now if they’d just hurry up and kiss instead of just pulling kissy faces.” I just rolled my eyes and sighed as Marco puckered his lips and made kissing noises and pretended that I wasn’t blushing bright red at his comments.

“Whatever!” Tom sighed, shrugging as he headed down the lane. Even before that slimy Yeerk got into his head, he didn’t like it when I won these little games. “I have a Sharing Meeting to go to. But don’t worry baby brother, I’ll keep the photo to myself. Of course, if someone at the meeting happens to pick up my camera while it happens to be displaying the picture, well that’s life.” He laughed just as one of his friends arrived in his car. Before I could make a single response, Tom had already jumped into the vehicle and was driving away.

“Meh, he’s going to a Sharing meeting. Like the Yeerks care about an embarrassing photo.” Marco shrugged uncaringly, grabbing my ball again. “So, are you going to keep torturing me with the ball and hoop or are we gonna go inside and play a real game?”

“Ok, ok, we’ll go...” I started as I turned away from the street, only to stop short as I noticed a brown haired boy walking very quickly towards us from down the street. After a second, I quickly recognised him as Erek King, our robotic friend and spy. And I almost groaned, disappointment and irritation bubbling in my gut as I noticed the worried look on his face. “See what has Erek so freaked.” I sighed exasperatedly. Following my line of vision, Marco couldn’t stop himself from letting out an angry growl as Erek reached my driveway.

“Dude, seriously, is it too much to ask for one day off?” He growled the second Erek was in talking distance. “Do the Yeerks know the meaning of words like vacation and downtime?”

“Yeah. But while one part of the Yeerk forces are having downtime, the others are hard at work.” Erek responded apologetically, ignoring the lack of a hello. He knows we’ve been through a lot, even helped us where he could. He understands we’re stressed and irritable. “But if it makes you feel better, this time you’ll get to expand on your frequent flyer miles and see a few amazing sites while you’re saving the world.”

“What are they doing, making a pool under the Tower of Pisa? Or have they turned Scotland’s Loc into one?” Marco grumbled smartly, just loud enough for us to hear.

“Number two’s closer, they’re working around England, Scotland and intend to snare Ireland while they’re at it. But you’re not going to believe me when I tell you what they’re after this time.” Erek responded calmly, a mixed look on his face. He looked as if he was trying to be serious, but couldn’t hold back some amusement. “And since this is a long conversation, I think we better gather the others before we go any further.”

“Sure. Why not?” I sighed, my day effectively ruined. “Just another day in the life of an Animorph. Rest and relaxation don’t exist.”

“I’m calling the union.” Erek and I couldn’t help but snort at Marco’s response.

....

It didn’t take long to get us gathered at the barn. Over a year of sudden meetings had us very well exercised in that practice.

“Ok, then Erek, how are we gonna die today?” Marco responded impatiently. “What are the big bad control freaks up to this time?”

“Kind of a dumb question after meeting the Ellimist, but do you guys believe in magic?” Erek asked, grinning sheepishly.

“Well, I believe that’s the only thing that describes what the Ellimist does, so yes. Why?” Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well...because there are beings on Earth that are capable of using magic too.” Erek answered. That had mixed reactions. I was thoroughly gobsmacked. Rachel’s eyes widened in disbelief while Marco raised a sceptic eyebrow. Cassie tensed and whipped around to face him, shocked and slack jawed. Tobias stopped preening himself and stared intensely at Erek. Ax went rigid. I wasn’t sure if he was just refusing to believe it or if it was a sign of dislike. Of all of us, Ax has the least like for the Ellimist. With the exception of maybe Rachel.

“They’re not nearly as powerful.” Erek continued hastily as Rachel and Marco both looked ready to respond. “But they do exist, living in a society hidden within the non-magical one, having done so for centuries. However, they’re a bit rarer outside of Europe. The witches and wizards anyway.”

“Witches and wizards? What else is there, warlocks and sorcerers?” Marco asked sarcastically, crossing his arms and tilting his head.

“No, those are titles witches and wizards can gain.” Erek responded amusedly, not bothered by Marco’s disbelief. “There are also a huge number of magical creatures in the world, some as sentient and intelligent as humans and some as wild as bears or wolves. The Yeerks intend to infest the witches and wizards and are using the few magical hosts they’ve already infested to see if any of the other magical creatures are host worthy. But, seeing as they’ve mostly only infested a few bumbling idiots so far, they don’t know much about the others yet.”

“Why don’t they use those hosts to sneak up and capture smarter ones?” Rachel asked. “Is it really that hard?”

“The Yeerks are hesitant to go after too many magical humans at the moment.” Erek answered hesitantly. I felt my stomach clench as his face turned nervous. I knew I wasn’t going to like what he said next. “They’re only just starting to build Yeerk Pools within their area and it’s going slow. Plus, the community they’ve found is in the middle of a civil war with a dark wizard and his followers. The bad guys have pretty much won, but there still is a strong resistance fighting back and it promises to get ugly sooner or later. If they infest too many hosts now, the Yeerks will be on both sides and too many would be killed while trying to keep their cover. If they wait, then by the time the war ends, the wizards will have done a lot of damage to their world and it’ll be easier to conquer, especially with a huge number of powerful hosts having their wills broken by the Wizarding jail.”

“What?” Cassie asked, a mixture of confusion and outrage in her voice and eyes.

“The dark wizard, Voldemort, and his followers believe that they are superior to non-magical people and that people that come from non-magical families don’t deserve magic.” Erek explained, frowning disgustedly. “When Voldemort took over the area’s magical government, he had them tell the world that witches and wizards from non-magical families, also known as Muggleborns, stole their magic from another witch or wizard and is throwing them in the Wizarding jail called Azkaban. The jail is on an island and is guarded by horrible, dark creatures called Dementors that feed on your happy thoughts and memories and force you to relive all of your worst ones over and over again. It drives people insane if they’re around them for too long.”

Tobias shouted, screeching with his beak at the same time.

I had to nod in agreement with that. I completely agreed with Tobias. I was absolutely disgusted with these people. I was seriously tempted to find these guys and tear them to shreds. Who cares if it wasn’t my fight, no one should be able to get away with that. Looking around, seeing their raging and paling faces, it was clear we all agreed. Ax looked a little less appalled, but I think that had more to do with being willing to put Visser Three through that than anything else.

“The Ministry originally put them there to guard real criminals because they couldn’t kill them and it was the only way to stop them from attacking everything they came across.” Erek continued quickly, not liking it when our dark looks turned back to him. It almost sounded like he was defending the idea of using them, even if it was only on slime balls. “Otherwise they’d do more. They’d use what’s called the Dementor’s kiss on innocents. They suck your soul out of your body through your mouth into there’s. Once that happens, your soul is trapped in its belly and is tortured relentlessly until the day it dies while your body goes on living as a soulless zombie. Voldemort’s a lot more willing to let them do their thing and attack everywhere they want, so they joined forces with him before the Ministry even fell. The Yeerks intend to get them as allies when the war’s over, though they don’t know if they could infest them, not that they want to even if they could. They’re too afraid that the Dementor’s power will still affect them while they’re in their heads.”

“So the Yeerks are just watching the world now and thinking about how to take it later?” I asked, deciding to move away from hellish creatures and back to the main topic. “Then why is it such a big problem now?”

“Because unless we manage to throw a wrench into their plans, the week this war is over more than half the wizards remaining in the area will be Controllers.” Erek answered gravely. “I told you that this was all happening around England, Scotland and Ireland. Between the three of them is one of the largest concentrations of wizards in the world by far. After that, it will be easy to get the rest of them and the magical creatures either infested or turned into attack dogs for them before moving on to the rest of the magical world. Once that’s done, they’ll release them on the non-magical, or Muggle world, and we won’t stand a chance. Technology tends to get disrupted by magic. In fact, if you went to a Wizarding stronghold, the magic in the air would be so thick that even I’d short-circuit. Maybe even blow up.”

“Which means even Yeerk and Andalite technology would be useless where magic is frequently used.” Cassie muttered confusedly, nibbling on her lip. “So how would a Yeerk Pool operate there? The Kandrona would never work.”

“They intend to make the pools deep underground where magic is significantly fainter.” Erek answered. “They’re making two pools at the moment. One underneath the Ministry of Magic and one underneath an ancient castle called Hogwarts. It’s a boarding school for witches and wizards. They’ve already infested a few people within each to get access and begin construction. Plus, they have a ship loaded with Hork-Bajir near Azkaban, keeping an eye on the gathering prisoners. They’re keeping an eye on them in case something happens and will capture and infest them just as soon as Voldemort’s taken care of, either by losing the war or being infested.”

“Why not just get them now and have a powerful army?” I asked raising an eyebrow, from the sounds of it, they were defenseless, physically and mentally. It didn’t make sense to just ignore such easy and powerful hosts.

//Because this Voldemort would stop at nothing to put them back in Azkaban.// Ax answered patiently. //Until he is taken care of, infesting them would just cause unnecessary issues.//

“Well, that only leaves two questions.” Rachel stated confidently, a wicked grin growing on her face. “How do we help and when do we leave?”

“Are you insane?” I almost cracked up right there. I was wondering how far we’d get before Marco said that. “If we go to deal with this we’ll have to stay there. The Yeerks will just keep trying. And if we stay there and save the magical world, our world will just be taken and then used to take the magical one anyway.”

“But if we ignore it, the magical world will be infested and we won’t stand a chance.” Cassie groaned, rubbing her temples. “Either way, we lose.”

“Now you see why I had to come to you quickly.” Erek said apologetically, offering me a small grin. “This completely changes the game board. At the moment it’s subtle, but if we ignore it...”

“It’s going to equal checkmate for us.” Marco huffed, glaring at the ground. “And no matter what crisis we try to avert, the other will eventually be completed and move on to undo our work. We can’t deal with both situations at once, we can’t really handle one. How are we supposed to handle this?”

//The answer to that is simple.// Tobias stated hesitantly, drawing our attention to him. //Though pulling it off may be difficult and we may not all agree with it.//

“What do you mean Tobias?” I asked impatiently. “What are you thinking?”

//When you need to fight on more fronts than you are capable, and giving up any one spells disaster, the most obvious move is to call in reinforcements.//He answered matter-of-factly.

“We need more Animorphs.” Cassie said softly, nodding up at the hawk. “Ones that can blend into this Wizarding world and know how it operates well enough to predict how the Yeerks will set themselves up.”

“WHAT?” Marco cried, staring incredulously back and forth between Tobias and Cassie as he turned as stiff as a board. “You want to give absolute strangers the power to morph AGAIN? And of all people, you choose people who already have powers. They’d be more powerful than us! If it was given to the wrong character or one of the Controllers we’ll all be toast.”

“We’ll take precautions.” I responded, looking around the group. “We’ll start with people at that boarding school. They’ll be the easiest to watch for three days straight and I’d like to ensure that a school full of innocent children is well protected, both from the Yeerks and these dark wizards as a side bonus. Then we’ll try to find someone who can help with the magical government part of it.”

I looked around the group as I spoke, trying to gage the others’ opinions. Cassie was nodding at me, completely in agreement. I couldn’t read Tobias, but this was his idea so I assumed he was on my side. Rachel looked a little unsure, but she nodded her head anyway. I think that was more because she couldn’t think of another solution than anything else. Marco just glared at the ground, mumbling about how crazy this was. No surprise there. Of all of us, he was definitely the most resistant to sharing the morphing power, but it seemed even he could see the need. If a single other option was available, he would probably jump at it. I was nervous about doing this too. It was definitely very dangerous. But then, Elfangor picked us at random and we turned out alright. We’ll actually be selecting the candidates this time. It should turn out ok.

//Could we not just warn some of these wizards of the Yeerks’ presence?// Ax asked hesitantly. Turning to face him, it was clear, even on his mouthless face that he disapproved of the idea. Again that wasn’t too shocking to me. Though he was fine with going against his people’s law against sharing technology for us, he firmly believed that it should only be used on people we knew well, a sentiment that had only grown stronger in our whole group when we put our faith in David and got attacked. //These people already have power. More than we have. Do they really need our power too?//

“To fight Hork-Bajir and Taxxons, no.” Cassie said, shaking her head. “However, they’ll need a way to keep their identities secret from the Yeerks just like we do and with the Yeerks combining their skills and knowledge with a wizard host’s knowledge and powers, they’ll need any edge that they can get.”

//You are most likely correct.// Ax muttered moodily, not really sure how to rebuff that.

“I can’t think of any other way.” I admitted, running a hand through my hair as a nervous feeling started getting to me. “Can anyone else?”

“Nope.” Rachel said as the others shook their heads, some more reluctantly than others. It was decided then. “So when do we leave? And how do we get there?” She asked, turning questioningly from me to Erek.

“I can get us onto a plane no problem.” Erek suggested. “Once we’re in England, we’ll meet up with another Chee over there who’s pretending to be a squib. A person from a magical family, but has no magic of their own.” He added as I frowned in confusion. “He’ll direct you to anywhere in the Wizarding world that you need to go.”

“Then we’ll head to the airport right away and try to find the right plane.” I stated firmly. The sooner this was underway the better. I have to admit that the idea of ruining such a huge plan of the Yeerks before it could even get underway was thrilling. If everything went right, our side would finally have a place where we could stand our ground. The school would be constantly protected and the disrupted technology would make capturing and holding large numbers of wizards very difficult elsewhere too. “Can you get the Chee to cover for us on the way?” I asked, turning to Erek.

“Already done.” Erek grinned. “We can leave right now.”

“Well then, let’s do it.” Rachel smiled confidently as she headed towards the door. Cassie and I couldn’t help but chuckle as Marco groaned at Rachel’s catchphrase. This was going to be interesting.


	2. Cassie

My name is Cassie.

Getting to England proved to be really easy. A plane was leaving for there an hour after we arrived at the airport and Erek expanded his hologram so we could walk through unseen. It was a little trickier finding seven free seats together, but fortunately there was a large group of them at the back of the plane and after that the flight was uneventful. Aside from Ax and Tobias’ frequent morphing that is, if you call two boys turning to and from an alien and a hawk eventful. That’s just par for course for me.

I have to admit that I was excited with this mission. I mean, how often do we get to see sights like Big Ben or the Palace while fighting parasites? And we would get to see an entire world filled with magic! It was like living in a fairy tale. I couldn’t wait to see it for myself and all the animals in it. This was going to be amazing.

“So where are we meeting your friend?” Tobias asked, frowning as he scanned the streets for anything unusual, not that he’d find it. He was clearly annoyed by the pathetic level of human vision. Compared to his usual hawk eyes, he was blind at the moment.

“Between platforms nine and ten at King’s Cross Station.” Erek answered, leading the way through the busy streets. “From there he can direct us to the school or to the magical streets in London.”

“And we’ll be picking the school. We’re here to give these guys a chance at saving their world, not go on a shopping trip.” Marco stated, much to Rachel’s annoyance.

“What? Why shouldn’t we go shopping? Think of all the things that they could have! Maybe even a growth potion to help you with your height problem.” She said teasingly, a sly smile passing her lips.

“Yeah, but I’d rather stay short than risk you buying a flying broomstick. You remind me enough of a witch already.” He retorted with a fake shiver, his face alive with amusement. Giving an indignant cry, Rachel shoved him in the shoulder.

“Why don’t you guys fly there?” Erek asked, pointing ahead of him. “Keep going that way and you’ll spot it in no time. It’s big, you can’t miss it. I’ll meet up with you guys there when you’ve got all the information.”

“How will we know who the Chee is if you’re not with us?” I asked unsurely. It would be hopeless going into a busy train station looking for a guy we knew nothing about. Chee blend in as well as we do in a crowd. Better if we’re wearing our morphing outfits.

“He’ll be right next to the wall between the platforms 9 and 10.” Erek answered reassuringly. “When you get there, ask whoever’s there if their name is Max Chee.”

“Ok, there’s a deserted alley over there we can use to morph.” Jake said, pointing to his right. “Everyone morph seagull and we’ll go from there. Can you take care of our clothes and the cube Erek?” He asked as we stepped out of sight and stripped off our outer clothing. Getting a nod from the android, four sets of clothes were piled into his hands before we started morphing.

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the image of the seagull and an itchiness grew over my skin immediately, bringing feather patterned tattoos in existence along with it. They turned three dimensional and grew out of my skin just as I started shrinking, making me look like I’d just been pranked with glue and a broken pillow. Skin widened from my fingers and fused together as the crunching sounds of my bones hollowing and reshaping met my ears. My legs turned skinny as stick figures as my toes fused together to make three nails. It wasn’t until I stopped shrinking and everything else was finished that my head changed. My lips hardened and exploded out from my face, creating a beak while my head reshaped to the bird’s head. The result was a seagull with human eyes. I mentally chuckled as that image made its way into my head.

I was fully prepared for the instincts to appear as the morph finished and quickly shoved them down as I turned to the others. Morphing’s never pretty and I didn’t want to watch the others while they did it. Fortunately, other than Ax, who had to pass from human to Andalite first, they were almost all done, only having a few human body parts left. I couldn’t help mentally snorting as I looked at Jake. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a bird with fingers at the end of his wings before.

//Yes, yes, morphing can have hilarious moments. Let’s move on.// Jake grumbled as he finished his morph, along with Rachel and Marco. Seeing as Tobias was clearly deciding to stay in his hawk form, we only had to wait for Ax to go through the process again before we took off into the air.

//Woohoo! I’m soaring majestically, like a candy wrapper caught in an updraft.// Marco cried cheerfully, flying higher into the air.

//Ok, no more Simpsons for Marco.// Rachel called teasingly, starting another of their bantering sessions. I didn’t pay it any mind, I was too busy staring down at the world with glee.

London looked beautiful from the sky and only amplified the joy I got from flying. It looked a lot like home, but still had a foreign aspect to it. And of course, the seagull mind thought it was in heaven. There was plenty of food for it to steal everywhere I looked. Being a scavenger, and an amazing one at that, it easily noticed limitless targets I never would have seen.

//There it is guys.// Tobias called from a little above us, beginning his decent as a large building with train tracks coming in from multiple sides. I have to say, it was much more impressive than any station I’d ever seen before. No wonder Erek said we wouldn’t miss it, it was absolutely enormous.

//Aww, we have to give up our wings already?// Marco sighed as we followed Tobias, fighting the seagulls’ panicked thoughts to get away from the raptor.

//Not necessarily.// Ax responded as we reached the tracks. //I cannot see a safe place for us to demorph. It appears that we will have to enter as seagulls and find the Chee first. We can demorph inside his hologram if we no longer need our wings.//

//Let’s go already.// Rachel called impatiently, dropping into a dive. The rest of us quickly followed her and followed the tracks right into platform 4. People stared and pointed to us as we flew over their heads, trying to find a place to land. The place was big for a reason; it was used by a LOT of people. We’d almost past platform 10 before we found a clear place to land, not that the seagull mind wanted to. The place was full of noise and far too many people. The perfect place for it to have a panic attack.

“Interesting place for a flock of seagulls to show up, eh mates?” A deep, male voice asked amusedly from behind me, scaring the seagull out of its tiny mind. Turning around, I found myself staring at a man in his early twenties with brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. “You wouldn’t happen to be Erek King’s friends, would you?”

//You are a smart one, aren’t you Max?// Marco replied jovially, squawking as he did. //Would you mind giving us a private bubble to talk and morph?//

“Not at all. I’m already getting weird looks.” He said softly, but cheerfully, standing up straight. A second later, it appeared that a dome of static had appeared around us. I couldn’t see anything but a fuzzy picture in any direction from four feet onwards. And on top of that, the man had disappeared to be replaced by a large, bipedal, robotic dog. “So, where am I leading you to first? I’m assuming you already have your moves in mind?”

//Yes, we do.// Jake nodded, a strange sight to see from a seagull, as we started to demorph. //We just want to go to the school. We’ll get the people we meet and talk to there to come up with a plan for the rest of the world. We don’t have the time or the numbers to deal with it all here and the problems back home.//

“Fair enough.” Max nodded, his eyes moving from one of us to the next, seemingly fascinated by our grotesque transitions. “I’ll show you the path there as soon as Erek shows up. That shouldn’t take long.”

“What do you mean?” Rachel asked, human enough to talk again. “We left him at the airport. It could take ages to get here.”

“In this lousy gravity, no way.” Max chuckled amusedly. “Back on our home world that would be true. But here, he can leap entire buildings with a single bound, like superman. He’ll be here in no time.”

//So he told us to go ahead so we didn’t slow him down?// Tobias asked, not quite managing to keep the laughter out of his voice. //And here I thought it was so he didn’t slow us down.//

“So how far do we have to go to find the path?” I asked. “Is it far from here?”

“The school is, but the beginning of the path is only about ten feet away.” Max responded, pointing to the barrier behind him. “This barrier is charmed. You can walk right through it and it will take you to another platform, 9 and three quarters. You follow the train tracks and they’ll lead you straight to a village at the end. From there, you walk ahead and you’ll find what looks like an old, dangerous ruin with a keep out sign on it. Ignore the sign and any feelings you get along the way of forgetting to do something and just head straight to it. Once you’re at the boundaries, you’ll pass all of the charms hiding it from sight and see a huge castle. That’s the school.”

“So we run through a solid wall, travel who knows how far and ignore every sign that we should stay away from the very place we’re heading?” Marco summed up, grinning cheekily. “No problem. It’s just like any other day in the life of an Animorph."

//Except it’s the next part where it gets tricky.// Tobias sighed, effectively ending the amusement caused by Marco’s comment.

“Unfortunately...Tobias right?” Max asked, getting a nod from everyone but the hawk in question. “Is right. After that there are spells designed to block even a wizard’s path and protect the students.”

“Not to mention that the school is a giant castle.” I added, giving the others an apologetic look as their frowns continued to grow. “It’ll be like a maze in there without any magic tricks added to the place. Without knowing our way around, we could easily get lost.”

//And after we figure out how to deal with all of this, we must also find people who not only are not infested, but are courageous, competent and trust worthy enough to deal with the two enemies they will be facing at once.// Ax added, turning his main eyes to Jake.

“Kinda makes you miss the missions where we just rush in and destroy everything in sight, doesn’t it?” Rachel asked, folding her arms.

“You know a mission sounds bad and impossible when I agree with Rachel on that one.” Marco nodded, taking a deep breath and sighing.

“It might not be that hard to actually pick candidates.” Max piped in, getting disbelieving raised eyebrows from all of us. “Just find the ones opposing the cruel staff members. With two Death Eaters, Voldemort’s minions, in the building, the noble ones should be easy to find.”

“Great, one less issue for them.” I jumped as the familiar voice appeared out of nowhere, heralding the arrival of Erek. I gave him an annoyed look as I took a few deep breaths, trying to get my heart beat to go back down. He’d come right out of nowhere and for a second I thought we’d been caught. Seeing the look I was giving him, Erek sent an apologetic one back to me. “Here’s your stuff guys. Are you ready to go?” He asked, as we took our clothes off of him, Ax grabbing the morphing cube firmly between both hands.

“Yep. First step’s through this wall right?” Rachel asked Max, getting a nod in return. Grinning, she put her hand out and strode right to the barrier and disappeared right through it.

“Yay, that part’s easy for once.” Marco said excitedly, following her through. Chuckling at his behavior, the rest of us followed suit. I had to smile as I came through the other side. Apart from the platform sign and what looked like old fashioned candle lanterns scattered around in place of light bulbs, it looked exactly the same as the rest of the station, except it was much cleaner and there was no one around. A good thing too. I’d been getting a little claustrophobic surrounded by so many people and having to huddle in such a small space.

“There are no alternations in the tracks. It’s a nonstop trip from here to a village just outside of Hogwarts called Hogsmeade.” Max told us as we jumped down onto the tracks. “Just follow it and you have no possible way of getting lost.”

“Alright then. Thanks for the help Max.” Jake smiled, nodding his head to the Chee.

“Not a problem. I want the Yeerks stopped too, you know?” Max said happily, chuckling as he looked at each of us in turn, his hologram’s eyes sparkling with amusement. “Erek and I will be right here when you get back. You know, just in case something comes up.”

“Alright, if you’re sure you won’t get bored.” Jake responded. “I don’t know how long this will take.”

“All the more reason to get started.” Erek said with a shrug.

“Yeah. So how are we gonna do this?” Marco asked, waving up the tracks before raising the clothes in his other hand. “Personally, I think it might be a little suspicious to bird watchers if a number of foreign birds of prey are flying along a railway track carrying clothes and a glowing cube.”

“Then we travel on foot.” I answered, a very particular grey furred form crossing my mind. “Wolves can run all day. We can carry our clothes in our mouths and we’re a lot less likely to be seen on the ground, especially if the locations these tracks lead to are supposed to be a secret from most of the world.”

And that was that. One transition later six wolves, four with clothes hanging from their jaws and one carefully clamping down on the morphing cube, were charging down track towards the country side. Off to the castle known as Hogwarts in a world like none we’ve ever seen.


	3. Neville

My name is Neville Longbottom.

I’m a teenage wizard currently in my seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I’ve always loved Hogwarts. Though there’s been plenty of bad days here, both caused by the usual jerks and the occasional disaster of one of Voldemort’s plans, the school provided me with times I’ll treasure for the rest of my life. I learned a lot here and finally got my forgetfulness issue dealt with. And I made the greatest friends you’ll ever find. Friends who not only stood by me when I screwed everything up, which I used to do quite frequently, but helped me develop my confidence and my skills. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were particularly determined to help me develop from a pathetic, spineless boy into the confident, talented man I’ve become, not that Ron, Ginny, Luna and occasionally a few others didn’t do what they could for me along the way. Hogwarts brought me in touch with them, my first friends.

But the happy times at school were clearly over. Now it was dark, scary and lonely. The school seemed so empty with not only the Muggleborns gone, but Harry and Ron too, fugitives of the law thanks to the oppression the Dark Lord has descended upon us all. The feeling of safety Hogwarts had always provided was long gone with Dumbledore being killed within the grounds and the Death Eaters, Snape and the Carrow siblings, ruling the school. Within only a few weeks since returning, they’d made the place horrible. We were forced to take Muggle Studies where they tell us how horrible and inferior Muggles are to us and Defense Against the Dark Arts had been turned into a Dark Arts class, which was, again, compulsory. Anyone who defied the Carrows and their new oppressive rules was punished painfully and Madam Pomfrey was forbidden to treat any injuries dealt by them, no matter how painful. On top of that, no matter what state you were in afterward, you were expected to be at every meal and class on time without help or you would be punished again.

It was despicable. There was no way I could do nothing. Harry wouldn’t. And I wasn’t the only one to feel that way. Ginny and Luna felt the same way. Seamus, the only dorm mate I had left verbally abused the Carrows. He got some nasty blows for that, the torture curse and a blow to the face being the worst of it, but the next day, it was only Ginny telling him to take a deep breath and wait for the right moment that stopped him from doing it again.

We couldn’t take them on alone, so we decided to do what Harry, Ron and Hermione did the last time we had an oppressor for a teacher; we took out our DA Galleons and called Dumbledore’s Army to the Room of Requirement.

I guess I shouldn’t have been, given the circumstances, but I was surprised by the immediate response of the other members. Apart from Zacharias Smith, a self-centered coward, every DA member still in the school arrived at the first meeting. Sixteen of us in total. It was only about half of what our number had once been, but it was enough. We quickly got organised and set out to make things as difficult for Snape and the Carrows as we could. We snuck out at night and painted challenging slogans on the walls, we intervened in as many detentions as we could without getting caught, we even pulled childish pranks, like dousing them with water or filling their offices with Nifflers and rodents. Over the last four weeks, we’ve been a huge pain and they have no idea who the DA are, so we’re still safe from near death punishments, but it’s not enough. We’re going to have to get more aggressive soon, take bigger risks, otherwise Hogwarts will never be safe again. The problem is, how do we do it without the Carrows killing us? Or worse, stopping them only to bring more Death Eaters to our door?

....

I was crouching low behind statue near the door to the dark arts classroom. I was ditching class, but I didn’t really care. I was supposed to be in Charms at the moment and Flitwick would mark me present. He didn’t approve of the students creating a rebellion, but he didn’t stop us either. He, like most other teachers, knew we were the only ones that could without more Death Eater teachers joining the staff and it had to be done, so he helped us the only way he could and gave us an alibi whenever possible.

Ernie Macmillan was around the corner, ready to rush in the minute I gave the signal. We weren’t letting Carrow go through with this today. A first year managed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and got detention. If it wasn’t bad enough that an innocent and terrified kid got any kind of detention just for getting lost, Carrow decided that he could serve it as a target for a sixth year class to practice the Cruciatus Curse on. My blood boiled at the idea of doing something so atrocious and it only took a second for Ernie to demand that I let him help me stop it when he found out.

I held perfectly still as the class past by us, barely holding back a growl. The bulk of the students going in were Slytherins. Their faces held the smug, superior look they’d had since the beginning of the year. Of all four houses, theirs was the only on not to decline in numbers and seeing as they were either the children of Death Eaters, or like them anyway, they were quite pleased with the changes. They made me want to puke. They knew what they were doing today and they were eager to do it. If I could have, I would have blasted every one of them right there and then. But I had to do this delicately. We’d only get one shot at sparing the poor kid any pain and to do it, no one could know we were here until it was too late to stop us. Not to say that no one knew we were there. Ginny and Luna were in the class too, the former winking at me as she passed me. Luna came from the hallway Ernie was hiding in, her dreamy smile planted firmly on her face. No doubt she’d spoken to my partner and was up to date with the plan. I could just see the tip of her wand poking out from where she’d hidden it up her sleeve.

“Everyone, gather around. Push those desks back, come on, hurry up!” A deep voice ordered harshly as I heard a door swing open and slam shut from the other side of the room. “The sooner we begin this lesson the better.”

I bit my lip so as not to scream in rage and tip Amycus Carrow off as the squeaking and groaning of desks moving across the stone floor hit my ears. Slowly coming out of my hiding spot, I leaned on the wall beside the door just as Ernie came around the corner, wand already drawn and staring at me intently. Motioning him to wait, I peeked through the open door, which Carrow liked to leave open so everyone around could hear the victim’s screams, and watched as everyone inside formed a semi circle at the front of the room, all eyes either on Carrow or the kid he was holding roughly by his hair.

“Now class, we are practicing the art of torture today.” Carrow smirked, pulling harder at the kid’s hair, eliciting a scream. “One by one, you will cast the Cruciatus curse on this little rule breaker. You will each hold it for twenty seconds before passing him on to the next student. Pan, you’re first.” He stated pushing the kid into the open space between him and the class. Pan, a Slytherin girl, grinned evilly, terrifying the kid even more as she pulled out her wand.

That was it. Turning to Ernie, I mouthed the word now, raised my wand and pointed it into the room at the same moment as Ernie gave his a flick.

“Steady your hand and- AAHH!” Carrow cried. A chair had shot into the air to his right and flown on a direct course to his head. He barely had time to duck. Beside him, Pan ignored the boy as she dived out of the way as the chair moved on to her.

“Accio boy!” I whispered, taking advantage of the resounding bang as the chair hit a table to hide my voice.

“WHOA!” Wide eyed, the boy screamed as he was ripped off his feet and soared, coming right at me.

“What the STOP HIM- ARGH!” Carrow cried furiously, running towards the door as he noticed the boy flying away, his wand drawn. However, before he could do anything, his foot became stuck to the ground, resulting in a face plant. I grinned at Ginny under my hood as she subtly put her wand away.

Catching the boy as he made it past the door, I quickly set him down firmly on his feet and pushed him down the corridor.

“Run.” I whispered as Carrow got back on his feet, angrier than ever. “Get out of here as fast as you can.” The kid didn’t need to be told twice and raced down the corridor faster than I ever thought first years could move.

“Protego Maxima!” Ernie shouted as Carrow fired a curse our way, putting up a shield right in the doorway and effectively blocking the spell. “Let’s go, that won’t last long!”

“Long enough.” I responded, but I took off after him anyway, running down the hall. Turning the corner at the far end of the corridor, the telltale sound of the shield blowing up met our ears, but any tension we got from it immediately disappeared as the echoing bang of the door slamming shut quickly followed, along with what sounded like someone's body slamming into it.

“And to think I told Luna that closing a door wouldn’t do anything.” Ernie laughed as we kept going, pulling up a hand to stop his hood from falling down. “The git had to have just ran into it. He might even have a broken nose now.”

“Let’s laugh about it when we know we’re safe.” I responded a little breathlessly as we reached the stairway. I wasn’t in the best shape and how many wizards bother to become marathon runners anyway? “We’re not out of the woods yet.”

Unfortunately, I was right. Just as we made it to the next floor, a spell collided with the wall beside me, blowing a part of it up and throwing a dust cloud in my face.

“Get back here you BRATS!” Carrow roared, his voice resounding off the walls as he approached. Coughing and spluttering, I turned back and just managed to see Carrow levitating himself up the staircase through my watery eyes. Not caring that I was half blind at the moment, I picked up my speed and prayed I didn’t run into anything as another spell flew past me, this one causing my robes to flutter as it pasted not an inch away from my hip.

“You just had to jinx us!” Ernie cried exasperatedly, ducking as Carrow threw another shot, this time aiming for Ernie’s head. Growling, Ernie whipped around and raised his wand right at Carrow as I passed him. “Stupefy!”

“Grrr.” Carrow grunted, waving his wand and blocking the red energy ball his way. However, though it didn’t solve our problem, Carrow did have to stop in place to block the spell, giving us the chance to put more distance between him and us. We could still run, if slower than usual, while firing offensive spells, but Carrow’s defensive ones would require him to stay relatively still. Something I was very keen to take advantage of.

“Petrificus totalus!” I shouted, spinning around as Ernie passed me. Again Carrow stopped to throw up a shield spell as I turned and picked up my pace, grinning cheekily as I did.

Ernie must have caught on to what I was planning because we quickly fell into a pattern. Every time Carrow would throw a curse our way, the one ahead would retaliate with one of our own, forcing Carrow to protect himself while the other would pass by the attacker. It worked out well for a while. The problem was that we had to make it to the other side of the castle to get to the Charms corridor and we were tiring out. To make it worse, we’d expose ourselves to him if we led him to our class.

“Damn it, why is he still chasing us?” Ernie puffed, starting to trail behind me as opposed to being ahead where he should have been with our current strategy. “Doesn’t he still have a class to terrorize?”

“No, we’ve irritated him too much.” I huffed back, wincing as a stitch started growing quickly in my side. “But we have to get rid of him now. I...can’t run much longer.” I groaned as Carrow turned the last corner after us, only causing me to groan louder. The corridor we were in was wide and empty. We were easy targets here. At least until we made it to where the next corner and the stairs opened up to the side.

“I have an idea.” Ernie mumbled, digging his free hand through his pockets as he thrust his wand over his shoulder. “Just keep quiet and turn down the corridor. Camaflet Vaporis!”

My jaw dropped in amazement as a thick fog exploded from his wand, quickly filling the entire hallway.

“You didn’t think to do that earlier?” I hissed softly, a little annoyed as Carrow screamed bloody murder behind us. I imagine that if I’d seen his face it would have been as red as red gets. “We could have lost him ages ago.”

“Yeah well, sorry, it’s hard to think when spells are being aimed at your head.” Ernie retorted, putting extra effort into running and motioning me to do the same. Just as we met the t-section, Ernie slowed down just enough to let the fog start covering him and tossed a few black balls down the stairs before grabbing my robes and tugging me into the corridor opposite it, just missing a purple flame thrower Carrow shot randomly through the fog with a scream. Gasping down as much air as he could without making any sound, Ernie pulled me to a stop and we leaned against the wall, his wand still creating more fog to hide the stairs and the corridor from view.

“You think a little smoke screen will stop me?” Carrow screamed as bright flashes of light that all reeked of dark magic flew dully through the fog, one of them forcing us to duck as it angled just well enough to make it around the corridor corner. “I’ve dealt with mist plenty of times in my life. I don’t have to see you, I’ll still find you.”

I was getting a little worried now. He was close, real close. It sounded like he was only a few feet away and if he managed to find us, we were sunk. My whole body was appalled by the very thought of more running and I could tell that Ernie wasn’t any better without seeing him. With my hand on his shoulder, seeing as I’d lose him in the mist without the physical contact, I could feel his body rising and falling heavily, trying to suck in as much air as possible. We couldn’t run away anymore and if we fought him head on, he’d discover who we are and that would only make things much worse for us later even if we did win.

My heart beat as loud as a drum as I heard his stomping feet reach the corner. Praying that he didn’t hear it, I placed my hand over my mouth and held my breath, feeling Ernie move to do the same. If Carrow heard the slightest peep, we were done for. My eyes widened as his boot appeared out of the fog and I sunk down as low as I could, preying to whoever was listening that he wouldn’t see us.

Fortunately, a bunch of small explosions decided that that moment was the perfect time to go off. Bang after bang ploughed into my ears, making me cringe in pain as they echoed and mixed, creating a long, constant, thunderous noise. I almost screamed, it was so painful, but I just bit my lip and pressed my hands to my ears.

“Uh-huh! You think damaging the school will save you? I’ll have you writhing in agony before this day is done!” Carrow screamed as his boot disappeared. Soon after, the explosions finally died down and all I could hear was the distant and fading thumps of Carrow’s boots stomping down the stairs.

“Aww, I was hoping he’d fall and tumble down a few floors.” Ernie sighed, pouting as he finally cancelled his fog spell.

“Well, if we were that lucky, Hogwarts would never of had to deal with him and his bloody sister in the first place.” I responded, sighing in relief as we got slowly back onto our feet. “Personally, I’d say getting away unscathed after what we did would have us classed as legendary around here these days. And I’m not trying to brag either.”

“Sounds too easy to become legendary. If only it was.” Ernie nodded as we headed down the hallway, much more sluggishly then before, and returned our house crests and ties to their proper places. We’d taken them off for secrecy purposes, but if Carrow came to our Charms class at the end of the hall and they were missing, then we may as well have shown him our faces. Reaching the door, we pulled our hoods down as we entered, getting more than a few stares as I closed the door behind us.

“I see the two of you are back from the bathroom.” Professor Flitwick said casually, though the look he was giving us was much more intense. “Well, what are you waiting for? Hop along back to your seats. We’re practicing transporting food from the kitchen today.”

Finally getting my breathing under control, I nodded with an appreciative smile and sat down next to Seamus as Ernie flopped next to Hannah.

“Page four hundred and twelve.” Seamus muttered as he handed me my book bag. Nodding my thanks, I opened it up and quickly pulled out everything I needed. “You’re lucky that there aren’t any Slytherins in this class. They’d tattle on you in an instant.”

“That’s why Terry didn’t come with us.” I replied with a shrug, flipping to the page. “Now how do you do this?”

....

Carrow did end up barging into the classroom about halfway through the lesson looking like he was about to explode and demanding that Flitwick tell him who had come in late, but as expected, the Charms Professor told him that the only student that wasn’t there on time was Susan Bones, who was currently in the Hospital Wing due to an illness. I had to smile as Carrow stormed out of the room, almost breaking the door as he slammed it shut. He wasn’t even slightly interested in the first year anymore. Now he just wanted me and Ernie and he didn’t have a clue who we were. Score one for us.

Though I made sure that I was on time for my other classes. Excluding Charms and what passes for the mandatory Muggle Studies these days, there was at least one Slytherin in all of my other classes. I just sat there and focused on my work in Transfiguration and tried desperately to keep myself from laughing at Carrow’s rant to his pain of a sister during lunch. Herbology was quite relaxing, despite how dangerously poisonous the plants we were replanting were. It was my favourite subject after all and I had good company there with Hannah Abbott and Anthony Goldstein sharing a table with me. I have to admit, I was a little jealous of Ernie and Susan. Outside DA stuff, Hannah was the thing on my mind most of the time these days. I’m just glad that she hasn’t realised why I sometimes stutter or go red when I’m talking to her.

It wasn’t until dinner time that something else out of the ordinary occurred. I was starving by the end of classes and filled my plate as soon as the food appeared.

“I wish she’d stop it.” Seamus muttered awkwardly just as I filled my mouth. Looking up, I found him frowning at his food, picking at it uncomfortably, his eyes darting subtly down the table only to shoot back down as he let out an irritated sigh.

“What’s wrong Shay? Normally you’ve eaten half a plate of food by now.” I asked, keeping my tone light and teasing, trying to get him to lighten up.

“It’s Lavender.” He answered. He was speaking so quietly that I had to lean in a little to hear him. “She’s developed a bit of a crush on me again and she’s been very obvious about wanting me. And she’s not taking the hint that I don’t want to go out again.”

I could only nod sympathetically at that. I remembered when Seamus dated her. It was in our fourth year. Seamus had a crush on her and took her to the Yule Ball and they had a few dates after, but Lavender turned out to be too intense for Seamus, not giving him any space. She was basically his shadow. So he broke it off. It seemed she hadn’t gotten any better with her love life since then either if last year was anything to go by. When she dated Ron, it was all about kissing and physical contact in addition to being his shadow. Sneaking a glance at her, I caught her batting her eyelashes seductively at the brunette Irishman quite openly. I could see why he was uncomfortable.

“Just ignore her methods and if she asks you out, tell her you’re not interested.” I said, pushing his plate a little closer to him. “Now eat.”

Seamus still didn’t look like his usual self, but he put food to his mouth and that was enough for me right now. I wish I could’ve helped him more, but getting involved with a one sided crush scenario was never a good idea. Seamus had to deal with it himself. Deciding not to worry about it, I returned to my own meal.

“So I assume you got away safely.” Ginny whispered as she took the spare seat beside me and started grabbing a decent serving of mashed potatoes and chicken wings. “How about the kid?”

“He’s fine.” I answered between mouthfuls. “He ran in the opposite direction we did and I assure you that Carrow was chasing us. I’ve never had to run so far in my life.”

“Well, you’ll have to run more often.” Ginny responded lightly, giving me a grin. “You’re turning into Harry after all. Running off with little to no help and risking your life to save someone else. You’re going to be chased a lot.”

“I am not turning into Harry.” I stated, though I had definitely felt a little flattered. Harry had been my idol throughout my time in school as much as anyone else’s after all. He was courageous, talented, kind and self-sacrificing. A true Gryffindor. “Harry refuses all help whenever possible and isn’t happy unless he’s rushing recklessly into a battle situation alone. I on the other hand, was quite happy that Ernie wanted to help me do it and felt relief at the idea that you and Luna would be there to back us up if something went wrong. And it was Ernie who saved us today, not me. I have got to find out where he found that fog spell, it could really come in handy."

“True, but you rushed in and risked your neck, leading the mission, and you’re the leader of the DA.” Seamus butted in, smiling proudly. “You’ve filled Harry’s place in our little rebellion quite nicely. Trust me, when this is all over, the entire world will be callin you a war hero too.”

“I highly doubt that. I’m just disrupting the enemy in the school, not doing anything that will have a major effect on the war.” I muttered, turning back to my food.

However, before I could even take one bite, the main entrance was opened so forcefully that it sounded like a bomb went off, making me jump and drop my fork. Tensing, the whole student body shut up instantly as what sounded like heavy metal scraping the floor loudly and constantly came from the entrance hall. A few seconds later, we found the source to be none other than a wounded, blood covered, furious looking Hagrid.

“What are you horrid Death Eaters bringin to da castle now?” He demanded, gritting his teeth. “As if Dementors weren’t bad enough, now you wanna bring in dark beasts that eat everything they see?”

“What are you on about, you blithering buffoon?” Alecto Carrow snarled, raising a disgusted eyebrow. “No creatures have been brought to Hogwarts other than Dementors. Between them and our new security team coming in tonight, we have no need for other creatures.”

“And I assure you, the security team coming in is very human.” Snape added coldly, his face void of emotion as he stared at Hagrid.

“Well, sorry for the accusations.” Hagrid snapped sarcastically, his hand tightening around the rope in his hand. “But last I checked, only your type would want anythin ter do with somethin like this.” With that he pulled on the rope and the painful groans of metal rubbing against stone occurred again as he pulled a large, metal cage through the doorway.

Gasps filled the hall as the creature within came into view. My eyes widened and I felt my jaw go slack as I stared. I had never seen anything like it, even in Hagrid’s classes.

It looked a lot like a hideous, giant yellow worm or centipede, taller than any human. It had dozens of dull orange limbs on either side of its body, the back half legs and the front half pincers. A large, circular mouth took up half the size of its head and was filled with razor sharp teeth. Circling it were what looked like four large, jelly-like red eyes.

And you know it had to be bad if dragon craving Hagrid hated them.

“I haven’ got a clue what it is, but it’s hunger’s insatiable and it eats everythin.” Hagrid boomed, hitting the cage in his anger. “I caught four o these blighters in the forest, just by the edges, eating everythin. And when I say everythin, I mean plants, animals and everythin else. Hell, they were even eating right through tree trunks and stone before they saw me and attacked. Only got out of that alive because they started eating each other once I’d got em bleedin. The only thing they don’t consume is metal and that’s not from a lack of tryin.”

“As interesting as this is.” Snape started slowly, staring at the creature. At that moment, I could have sworn that I saw a flicker of dislike and concern pass through his eyes as it stared back at him. “I assure you that it is not here under my approval and I would thank you to remove it from the castle before it finds a way to break free and eats a student.”

“Then kill it.” Hagrid snapped, glaring heatedly at the greasy haired git. “We can’t have somethin like this runnin around Hogwarts now can we?”

“I’m surprised that you don’t want to keep it as a pet.” Snape retorted coolly, though he got to his feet and pulled out his wand anyway. “The Cerberus of yours is far more dangerous than this thing. Or is that the problem? It’s not dangerous enough for your tastes.” Hagrid growled as Snape approached, clenching his fists at his side. I had to bite my lip to hold back my own anger at Snape, Ginny tensing beside me. Hagrid was a good guy. Yes, he had a fascination for dangerous creatures, but that didn’t give Snape the right to publicly attack him over it.

“He hasn’t put a collar on you yet, slimy git.” Seamus muttered under his breath. I wasn’t able to hold back my snort at that. 

“Twenty points from Gryffindor for Finnegan’s little remark.” Snape snapped, turning an icy look to Seamus for a second before turning back to the worm thing, raising his wand. “Avada Kedavra!” I flinched at the green beam flying from Snape’s wand as it struck the creature. Whatever it was, it wasn’t all that magic resistant as it was flung forcefully back against the opposite side of the cage and dropped straight down without making anything more than a squeak, dead.

“There.” Snape said calmly, not even batting an eyelash as he lowered his wand. “It is no longer a threat. Now Hagrid, please make sure that there are no more of these creatures in the area so we may ensure the safety of our staff and students.”

“Very well, Professor.” Hagrid responded, spitting the last word venomously as he shoved the cage back out into the entrance hall before heading towards the teacher’s table. “First thing tomorrow. A bit foolish to go out there at night when it’s hard to see. Specially since we don’t know what they can do.”

I turned my attention away from them after that, ignoring their banter. I didn’t know why, but something about that creature worried me more than it should. I was sure that I could blow them away with one or two spells, so fighting them would be no more dangerous than most other creatures in the forest. Hell, with all the usual creatures’ resistance to wizard magic, they’d probably be a lot easier to handle. It was something else. Maybe the fact that they were new to the area and judging from all the confused whispers around the Great Hall, no one had a clue what they could be. I’m not exactly sure why they made feel so uneasy, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were a bad omen. It felt like something was coming. And whatever it was, it wasn’t good.


	4. Marco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> //equals thoughtspeak//

My Name is Marco.

Talk about a long run. From the busy cities, to the farmlands and out into the country, it seemed like it would never end. We saw huge cliffs, passed dense forests and Tobias got his paw caught between wooden planks and almost fell off a ridiculously high bridge crossing a river. It was at times like this that I really wished that we could morph more clothing. If we could at least morph sweatpants and a loose shirt, we could have flown there in less than half the time. Though the wolf can run at full speed all day without tiring, we still had to demorph every two hours and frequent morphing is beyond exhausting once we get back to our human, or bird or alien, form.

The sun had gone down long ago by the time the end of the tracks came into view. Or at least that’s what I assumed was the end of the track. I couldn’t see it under a very long, old fashioned train.

//Good, we found the train that’s almost never used.// Rachel sighed in relief. Even the ever keen warrior princess had lost her enthusiasm. Running all day with the finish line out of sight even when you reach it will do that to you. //The village and this castle we can’t see must be around somewhere.//

//Yeah, now the real fun begins.// I responded, keeping my voice as chipper as I can. //Next up is trying to find a place that everything, including our own eyes and heads, say isn’t there and that we should stay away and then we get to try breaking in through defenses designed to thwart even the greatest wizards.//

//And after that, it’s a maze with magical tricks and who knows what else.// Cassie sighed. I had the perfect view to watch as her head dropped. The others were all showing signs of doubt or exasperation too. Me on the other hand? I was suddenly feeling the urge to grin. I was quite happy that it had finally hit them how insane and impossible this was going to be.

//AND THEN, we have to find a group of teenagers who aren’t infested, decent people and willing to fight. How hard could it be?// Jake snapped, more to himself than anyone else. That sobered me up a little. Things have to be really bad for Jake to start with the sarcasm. That’s mine and Rachel’s thing.

//How about we ignore all that right now?// Tobias suggested, his voice as soft as he could make it, trying to calm everyone down. //This train isn’t going to be used again for a good while, so how about we get on and get some sleep? We can think our next move through tomorrow.//

//That sounds like a good idea.// Rachel agreed, surprising me with the hastiness in her voice. I guess the pressure of this mission was even getting to her. That or Jake’s attitude had her nervous. Probably both.

//I do not recommend morphing again tonight anyway.// Ax said, surprising me a little. He didn’t usually try to influence decisions. Usually, he’d wait and follow Jake’s orders like the perfect soldier. //The number of transformations has already drained most of our strength. Once we leave these forms, it is unlikely that we’ll be able to do so much as walk straight.//

//How long can we stay in morph anyway?// Jake asked, tilting his head in a way that had him reminded me of a curious puppy.

//Twenty of your minutes, Prince Jake.//

//Come on Ax, how many times do I have to tell you? They’re everyone’s minutes, not just ours.// I responded teasingly.

//Now there are nineteen of your minutes remaining.// He responded stiffly, causing me to snort. I’m not sure if he does that as a joke or what, but I always find it funny.

//Good. In that case, take Marco and Tobias and see if you can find us anything to eat. After today, we’re gonna need it and unfortunately, we don’t have any money on us.// Jake said as Rachel and Cassie walked towards the train and inspected a door handle. //Steal if you have too, but keep it minimal. We can get more food no one will miss once we’re inside the castle.//

//As you wish, Prince Jake.// Ax replied, immediately turning and heading off, towards where my nose was telling me that there were people. The village that the Chee had mentioned must have been nearby.

//We shall return soon with a meal fit for a king, my prince.// I added dramatically, bending my front legs down to give Jake a wolf’s version of a bow before taking off after my partners.

//Don’t call me prince.// I could only wage my tail like a dog at that, chuckling inside everyone’s heads as I went on my way.

...

//Um, wasn’t this supposed to be difficult?// Tobias asked, his confusion clear in his ‘voice’ as he looked from left to right. Not that I didn’t understand, I was pretty confused too.

The Squib Chee had said that this place was protected so that you had to have magic to see it from any kind of distance before entering it. However, we turned left around a tree and there it was, right in plain sight. There was no ruins, no urge to leave and do something I’d forgotten and I could hear, smell and see about a million different things, many of the scents confusing the wolf mind terribly. It never had never smelt anything like the aromas coming from the building nearest to us. I guess either it was filled with potions or taken over by some magical creatures. Either way, some of those fumes smelt really bad and I quickly decided that I should stay away from the place.

//Perhaps the illusions placed on this village do not affect us because we are not their target.// Ax suggested as he continued on his way, unperturbed.

//What do you mean Ax?// Tobias asked as we followed him at a more cautious pace, crouching within the bushes for as long as we could. //They are meant to prevent non-magical people from seeing the town.//

//And last I checked, none of us put on pointy hats and rode on broomsticks.// I agreed. //Though, I wouldn’t put it passed Rachel.// I added before I could stop myself, ignoring the growl I got from Tobias.

//Exactly.// Ax responded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. //Non-magical people. It was put in place to stop humans. But a wild animal’s mind and senses are very different and are unlikely to be affected. It is safe to say that as an Andalite, I won’t be in my natural form either.//

//Good enough for me. Though, I still only see ruins over there where I’m assuming the castle is, so our actual target might still be a little bit of a problem.// Tobias stated as we reached the main road of the village.

//Worry about that later.// I said, glancing at the buildings, searching for names while I sniffed around for food. //We’ve got like fifteen of EVERYONE’S minutes left to get food and run back to the others before we’re either stuck or forced to change back in front of who knows who.//

//Thirteen and a half of YOUR minutes actually.// Ax retorted, causing me to shake with suppressed laughter.

I have to say, this place confused and fascinated me at the same time. There wasn’t a single shop that I recognised, a weird aspect in itself. I mean, there’s actually a place in the world that doesn’t have a McDonalds. Who knew? I almost barfed when I saw that the candy shop had something called cockroach clusters on display in the window. I mean seriously, WHY WOULD YOU EAT A COCKROACH! Gross. I didn’t care if there was food in there, I wasn’t going in. I love candy almost as much as I love teasing Jake and Rachel, but there was no way I was risking putting sugar coated insects in my mouth.

I have to say that I was keen to come back to the village tomorrow though. They have a magical joke shop! Could you imagine how annoying I could be with that stuff? Looking into the display window, I curled my muzzle into a grin as my eyes caught a bowel of brightly coloured balls. According to the sign, they were magical versions of paint balls. Throw them at someone and no matter how little of them is hit, or where, and their entire body turns the colour of the ball and stays that way for three hours. I chuckled evilly to myself at the idea of turning Ax’s fur a nice, deep pur-

//Has anyone else noticed that no one is around?// Tobias called, interrupting my evil scheme. However, I completely forgot it as his words registered in my head. Looking around, I realised that he was right. In fact, the only time I’d seen anyone was just before we entered the main street and he was one antsy old man.

//Yeah, that’s strange. I know it’s night, but you’d think someone would be going home or to the pub or something.// I said confusedly. Taking a few good sniffs, I checked the air for any human scent, but even in the main road of the town, fresh scents were hard to come by. Well, human ones anyway. Most of them were strongest when I sniffed a door mat, though even that wasn’t too strong. I could tell that people were inside the buildings, but they appeared to almost never come out. Then there was that other smell.

//There is an odor in the air that is very unpleasant.// Ax commented distastefully, shaking his head as if he were trying to dislodge something. //Even the wolf wishes to get away from it. It is considering it rotting decay.//

//Yeah, except it’s moving.// Tobias exclaimed, his tone thick with nervousness. //You don’t think that witches and wizards actually create zombies do you?//

//What is a zombie?// Ax asked, a hint of intrigue mixing in with the distaste in his voice.

//You know, a dead body that’s been reanimated with only one conscious thought on its mind: find and eat brains.// I answered, forcing my voice to sound casual despite how nervous I was becoming. Not to mention colder. And...why did I feel like I was losing my ability to find the humor in life?

//Normally, I’d say that is not possible.// Ax started before his tone turned less sure and confident. //But this magic has not been seen on any world the Andalites know of, so I cannot tell if it were possible.//

//Where about to find out!// Tobias cried. He had gone a little ahead of us and the moment he’d turned to look into an alleyway, his whole body had tensed. That posture alone was enough to trigger the wolf’s ‘defend the pack’ instinct and both Ax and I immediately leapt right to his side.

Just as I reached his tail, I knew instantly what Tobias had meant. My ears picked it up first. A flapping sound, like that of a sheet on a clothesline on a windy day. Almost hidden within that was also the sound of breathing. A cold, rattling breath strong enough to send shivers down my spine. However, pass there, it was confusing.

My nose could pick up the smell alright. The dead, decaying smell that coated the town was much more focused and getting stronger, meaning that the source was close by and coming closer. However, the wolf’s brain was registering it in the air, not touching the ground at all. And last I’d checked, dead bodies don’t fly. But was even more confusing was that there was nothing there to see. Both my human and wolf minds agreed, I should have been able to see what I was smelling by now.

//This is very peculiar.// Ax muttered. Though this time, while the curiosity was still there, I couldn’t help but notice his ‘voice’ sounded almost frail, like his confidence and optimism was gone. //Even this creature is confused. Two senses say something is there, but there is nothing to see.//

//I think we should get out of here.// Tobias muttered, his voice shaking. //Something is very wrong. And I’m...not alright at the moment// He added, seemingly unsure if how to describe how he felt.

However, I didn’t need him to. The stronger that smell got, the colder I felt. I could SEE my breath! That alone was freaking me out, it was nice and warm only a few seconds ago. And I’m currently a WOLF! They thrive in snow, how could I be cold? But there was more. Dread was quickly growing in the pit of my stomach and fear had me hyperventilating. And you know something is wrong with me when not a single witty or sarcastic remark is coming to mind.

//I agree, let’s bail.// I said vigorously, already turning to sprint back the way we came.

//But Prince Jake asked-// Ax started, his voice filled with indecision.

//He’ll understand, just run!// I cut in. That seemed to be enough for him, for a not a second later, all three of us were running as fast as we could back down the street.

Fortunately, whatever was causing the smell didn’t seem to care about us, for the smell instantly receded and even the wolf’s very sensitive ears couldn’t hear anything from it after a few seconds. Furthermore, the further we ran, the less I felt that I needed to. The dread and fear calmed and eventually disappeared entirely and my body felt warm again.

//This is just freaky.// Tobias stated, summing up everything that came to my mind perfectly. //I feel fine now. Nervous and confused, yes, but that all hope is lost feeling went away just as quickly as it came as soon as we as the smell receded. What’s going on?//

//It appears that those creatures, whatever they were, have the ability to affect our minds and bodies.// Ax theorized, leaving me with a huge urge to roll my eyes at just how obvious that statement was. Hey, Marco is back! World beware, for you shall submit to my all powerful sarcasm. //Perhaps their bodies release a chemical gas in their odor that is meant to paralyze their prey.//

//Add that to invisibility and it’s one dangerous creature, whatever it was.// Tobias said nervously as we turned a corner, a deep sense of relief filling me as the train came back in sight. //And it stopped us from getting food. We’re going hungry tonight. That’s just great.// He added moodily.

//True, but we did get a lot of info that our fearless leader should like.// I commented as the earth beneath my paws turned to wood. //The biggest part being that it’ll be much easier enough to get through the magic and into the castle as animals.//

....

“So you could see the village, but not the school?” Jake asked with a frown as he sank into a cushioned seat. After reaching the station, we’d quickly demorphed and headed into the train, trying to avoid all suspicious eyes, though that didn’t seem to be a problem. No one, visible or not, was detected by the wolf’s senses, but in a magical place that could change quickly. Once inside, it had been easy to find Jake and the girls...pigging out on strange chocolate bars! Now that irritated me. Our mission wasn’t even necessary. “I wonder why that would be? If you can see through an illusion in one place, you should be able to see through them in another.”

“Maybe it’s covered with different spells.” Cassie suggested sleepily, laying down on a bench on the other side of the compartment. “It is a castle after all. Magical or not, castles were always very important and only the best were brought in to develop its protection. The wizards and witches who put up its defences may have been more powerful than the ones that did the village or might have known more advanced spells.”

“It could also be the result of the sheer number of different spells on the place.” Rachel added, popping what looked like a purple bean in her mouth only to spit it out a second later with a look of pure disgust on her face. “AUGH! That tasted like wax! Why would make that into a flavour?”

“Wow, wax? When they every flavour, they’re not kidding are they?” I chuckled, inspecting the box curiously. Rachel just shot me a venomous look as she grabbed a chocolate box and opened it.

“WHOA!” Bugged eyed, I nearly jumped out of my chair as a frog made of chocolate leapt right out and at my face. However, Rachel didn’t seem too keen on sharing it with me and snatched it right out of the air and shoved it into her mouth, eating it whole. “Hehe, check it out, Rachel literally has a frog in her throat.”

“What about these creatures?” Jake asked before Rachel could retort, pulling the subject back on course. “Are they likely to get in our way?”

//As long as we are morphed, no.// Ax answered. //It appeared that we had merely crossed paths with this one coincidentally. When we ran, whatever it was did not try to stop us or follow. Again, it may not have considered us worth paying attention to due to us not being human or magical.//

//Though they do explain why the streets were deserted.// Tobias commented from his place on the upper ledge meant for luggage. //The people would want to stay far away from whatever these things are. In any case, I’m confident that no good comes from them. And judging from the smell coating the entire area, it’s very likely that there is a lot of them nearby//

“Then tomorrow, we fly towards the ‘ruins’.” Jake nodded, looking around the group for any sign of disapproval. “That should help us avoid these undead smelling creatures and stop a lot of magic from affecting us if our assumptions are right. If we still can’t get in, we’ll land at the barrier and try an underground approach as moles. But for now, eat as much strange, teeth rotting candy as you need and go to sleep.”

“Sweet! Orders to be lazy. Keep that up and we’ll keep you around, my boy.” I grinned, ignoring Jake’s eye roll as I made my way to the sweets cart. Looking it over, I decided on the chocolate frogs and some cakes. Hopefully the flour filled goodness didn’t include cockroaches and eye of newt. Tomorrow was going to be a long day after all. It would be really bad if I spent it puking.

Note to self. Next time I’m going to a far off, unknown land, pack as many marsbars and potato chips as I can.


	5. Seamus

My name is Seamus.

After the little surprise at dinner, Neville was up in arms and calling an emergency meeting with what had been determined as the elites of the DA. Why, I wasn’t entirely sure. I mean, yeah, that thing had been creepy and unheard of even by the school’s resident monster lover, but that was just unusual, not overly suspicious. After all, that bastard Snape had killed one after declaring that he had no clue as to what the hell it was and it’s not like Death Eaters have to hide anything anymore.

But Neville wasn’t interested in listening to me, so I just sighed and went along with him and Ginny to the Room of Requirement.

We were the last to arrive at the meeting, but considering that we made up most of the members involved it wasn’t that surprising. Ernie had clearly been the first to arrive and designed the room for our use. There wasn’t much more than the bare essentials. A spyglass and a few other enemy detectors were scattered around the room and in the center was a large, round table with five chairs surrounding it, two of which were currently occupied.

Upon entering the room I had to hold back a laugh. Ernie looked at his wit’s end as the final member of the DA’s leaders, Luna, talked nonstop. Though he had come to respect her, Ernie still thought of Luna as a bit of a nutter and failed at dealing with her for long periods of time. As soon as we’d opened the door he’d turned to Neville with a look of sheer desperation, though Luna either didn’t notice or care as she flipped a page in the Quibbler and moved on to talking about how a garden gnome’s bite would bring good luck.

“Good, everyone’s here, we can get down to business.” Neville said firmly, earning an extremely thankful look from the only Hufflepuff in the room as he took his seat.

“That creature was definitely unusual. I’ve never even heard of anything like it.” Luna commented as she put her magazine down, surprising me and Ernie. Though Neville and Ginny were quite used to it, we still found it hard to believe how perceptive and to the point Luna could become. “I already wrote a letter to my dad about it. I’m sure that he could find its name.” Though we were both fully prepared for the unnecessary and usually strange line that followed and had stopped rolling our eyes.

“Yes, and it worries me. I can’t help but feel it means something very bad.” Neville stated firmly.

“But why are we discussing it?” I asked, trying to hold back my exasperation. “Snape killed one. The Death Eaters are running society. If they were using these things then they wouldn’t have to hide it and wouldn’t kill them. Snape would have told Hagrid to let those things go if they were on his side.”

“Most likely they’re just a crossbreed that someone’s stupidly created and tossed into the Forbidden Forest. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before.” Ernie agreed with a shrug. “I’m confident that there are plenty of creatures in the forest that will take care of them for us.”

“You can’t seriously believe that You Know Who is revealing all his cards, do you?” Ginny retorted, surprising us and getting a thankful nod from Neville. “Creatures that can eat through almost anything and don’t care what it is their teeth are targeting sound like the perfect dark creatures he would use. He may intend to hold them back as a surprise for if we revolt. And even if they’re not part of his dark army, do you really want to rely on Death Eaters to protect us if they enter the school grounds? They’d be quite happy to use them for detention.”

“Exactly. Either way, we have to know about them if we’re going to protect the students from them. Knowledge is power and all that.” Neville agreed, earning a compliant look from Luna before focusing squarely on me and Ernie.

“Well, I guess there’s no point arguing.” Ernie conceded with a sigh. “The revivers are all in agreement and it’s majority rules. We’re going through with this.” I just nodded my head and rested it in my hand as I stared at Neville. Ernie was right after all.

Neville, Ginny and Luna were known to the DA as the revivers, or the big three. They were the only three people still in school to make it into Harry Potter’s inner circle of friends, were the ones to regather the DA and they were the only ones that had previous combat history, making their leadership unquestionable. Ernie had made it to the Elites because Neville decided that each house affiliated with the DA would have a high member, someone who could orchestrate and relay messages from the other members from their house, sort of like captains. And of all the Hufflepuffs, Ernie was the most skilled and noble, the one the others looked up to. The perfect choice. Ginny and Luna had taken those positions for their own houses. Neville was declared the leader of the DA, over even the girls. I was the unusual case. A lot of allies were calling me Neville’s right hand man because I’m usually with him and giving him my opinion when he frequently confides in me, but I’d say that I had a lower position than any of the others currently around me. I’m not sure how it happened, but I somehow ended up in charge of the behind the scenes work. Unlike the others in the room, I wasn’t on the front lines, openly defiant, that much. I created small distractions when others were being chased or to throw off the Death Eaters from what we were up to, or prepared stealthy escape routes to lead both allies and students we’d save away safely. The plan was for the Carrows to never see me at work, to always be under the radar. That meant that I needed to know what was going on and that I could gleam information that the openly active members couldn’t and that was how I got my position at this table, nothing else.

“Good, it’s decided. Now the question is how to get out and observe these things without being spotted or eaten and who’s coming with me.” Neville stated, looking around the table questioningly as we all frowned. “What? It’s too dangerous to go alone and a big group is more likely to get noticed. Two or three people would be best.”

“I agree mate, but that’s not the part that has me worried.” Ernie replied, turning towards the rest of us for encouragement and continuing on as all three of us nodded. “The problem is you going.”

“What?” Neville asked, thrown for a loop. “Why is that a problem?”

“Because any action from you, or any of us at this table for that matter, has the instant attention from the Death Eater duo.” Ginny answered, her tone clearly implying a ‘duh’. “None of us could ever manage to sneak out and observe these things without being noticed and clearly we don’t want anyone knowing that we’re doing it. If they’re a secret weapon or whatever, then the less the Death Eaters know, the better.”

“So you guys want to send our other members to a pack of dark, carnivorous creatures?” Neville raised an eyebrow challengingly.

“Hey, it’s not like many of us have much more experience than anyone else.” Ernie said defensively.

“They do want to do what we do.” Luna agreed airily, though it was hard to take her contribution seriously when she looked like she was in a dream world again. “And plenty of them are talented.”

“Harry trained them just as well as he trained us.” Ginny added, though Neville still looked hesitant.

“I know, but-”

“Hello! What do I need, a flashing neon sign?” I butted in, growing a little cranky. “Remember me? Mr stealth and evacuation? This is right up MY alley, remember? I can do it.”

I honestly could have slapped them all upside the head at that moment. And now they were all staring at me as if they’d forgotten I was there. Sheesh, and these airheads were running the show? I could understand some of Neville’s old forgetfulness showing through, but what’s the rest of their excuses?

“That’s right! Seamus isn’t a noted troublemaker anymore.” Ginny grinned as realization struck her. “And if anyone could get out there undetected, he can.” Blimey, the way she said that made the obvious sound like a great, just discovered secret. I was starting to wonder when the disco ball, bright lights and celebration music was gonna pop up. Then again, I probably should stop those thoughts right there before the room created them. I’m not quite sure how it works.

“But if you do this then you could easily be discovered.” Neville said hesitantly, giving me a troubled look. “If that happens then you will be closely watched too. You won’t be able to do your job.”

“Then someone else will just have to take over.” I shrugged uncaringly. Personally, I was itching to get in on the action. Seeing as I tended to blow things up anyway, I’d taken to learning every fire spell I could and I’d proven to be a master of them. And I REALLY wanted to light up those pain in the neck Carrows’ robes. Give their ‘nails on a chalkboard’ voices something to really screech about. It wasn’t like there weren’t others that could do my job anyway. I tended to bring in Terry Boot and Susan Bones along for the help on the bigger missions as it was, they could easily take my place.

“Seamus it is then.” Ernie said approvingly as Luna gave us a satisfied nod. Seeing our conviction, Neville just sighed defeatedly. “But you’ll still need a partner. Got anyone in mind?”

“I’ll go with him.” All our heads snapped up at that voice. It hadn’t come from the table and it was a voice I’d heard so little of that I’d barely recognised it as a DA member’s, let alone who it actually belonged to. Turning to the door I almost dropped my jaw at the sight of Anthony Goldstein, the male Ravenclaw prefect of my year. None of us had even heard the door open. We have GOT to learn to lock that thing.

“Sorry for barging in.” He muttered nervously, biting his lip and fidgeting with his fingers as we stared with confusion and raised eyebrows at him. “I saw Luna and Ernie fiddling with their coins and knew you’d all be here and I was hoping for...a way to help. Sorry for listening in on your conversation, I didn’t mean to.” He added quickly as Ernie and Neville’s raised eyebrows didn’t go away. “I just thought...maybe...”

“I’ll be glad for your help.” I replied, offering the distressed blond an appreciative smile. “And don’t worry about the eavesdropping thing, it’s fine. What goes on at these meetings isn’t anything we wouldn’t tell the DA anyway.”

“It’s just easier on everyone if only those that need to be here are called.” Ginny agreed warmly. “No sense in dragging everyone here and arousing suspicion when the group leaders will be doing most of the debating.”

Seeing the other boys’ faces relaxing into acceptance, Anthony let out a sigh of relief and relaxed, giving me a shy, but thankful grin.

I have to admit that I was a little surprised when I’d officially met Anthony in our fifth year. I’d never really talked to him in classes, it was only when I finally joined the DA right before it was forced to disband that I actually got to know him. He was already a prefect, which made me assume that he was either a control freak or good with people, but he proved to be neither. Though I’d seen him comfortably talk with Boot or Corner, he was generally a bit shy and soft spoken. He was a nice guy, but I’d say he got the honor of his position through his studies more than anything else. That was the other thing I’d learned about him. He was a true Ravenclaw, very intelligent and reliable. I’d heard McGonagall and Flitwick both mention that he was even competing with Hermione’s test scores in Transfiguration and Charms.

He hadn’t really done anything to help the DA other than clean a few wounds after we rescued victims, which was why everyone was so startled to see him. Along with being shy, he didn’t have the confidence to be seriously defiant and had kept his head down. It was actually pretty surprising that he was suddenly asking to help in what would pass as a big and dangerous mission even for us. But if he’s ready to take that step then I’d gladly help him on his way.

“Well, now that the team’s decided,” Neville started as he motioned Anthony to the table. Pulling out her wand, Luna gave it a series of waves and drew up another chair between her and Ginny, getting a thankful look from Anthony as he sat down. “I think that it would be best if plan how to get you guys outside without being noticed. We can’t help much with getting you back in, but we should do all we can to help you get out. It is more important after all, if you want to discover anything about these beasts that you aren’t discovered first.”

“I...have an idea.” Anthony muttered softly, shocking me again. Coming into our meeting and volunteering for a job we’d already decided on was shocking enough, but now he was actually contributing before even being prodded? Wow, his confidence was definitely improving.

“Well, we’re all ears.” Ernie responded, giving him an encouraging smile. Caring and loyalty were the most prided traits of Hufflepuff and it was exactly what Anthony needed to feel comfortable around us.

“You guys are almost always being watched, right?” He started, waving his hands around at the others and getting nods in return. “Well, since you’ve dropped out of sight tonight, the Carrows will be really suspicious of you already, so my idea is to use that against them. You guys make yourselves look a little suspicious and meet up somewhere harmless while we sneak out.”

“Not bad.” Ginny mused, clearly impressed as she rested her chin on her hand.

“You could meet at the library. It’s on the opposite side of the castle from the forest and it’ll end with you looking innocent.”

“But we’ll still be suspicious enough to keep their attention.” Neville agreed with a smirk. “The biggest trouble makers in the school gathered at the biggest source of information you’ll probably ever find? We could be up to anything.”

“Especially if you pick up the right books and make sure the Carrows know their titles.” Anthony nodded, his voice growing a little stronger and more confident with our approval of his ideas. “There’s some really good dark defence books that work have them scowling and if you speak up about spells in other books that might be useful...” He added, shocking me as a small, mischievous smile grew on his face before I laughed. This plan was brilliant. The Ravenclaw boy fully intended to drive the Death Eater duo nuts with nothing more than a study session. It was clever, it was sneaky and the others may even actually learn a good few new spells along the way for tomorrow’s problems.

If he could make something so innocent as a study group seem suspicious than I had to wonder if he was be able to reverse it. But I’d find that out later for sure, right now I was content to offer him my hand.

“You are going to make one hell of an ally. I’m taking you as my partner. Merlin knows that with the disasters these guys plan I could use your clever brain to cover it up.” I said brightly. His eyes brightening considerably, Anthony took my hand and shook it firmly, revealing a little more strength than I expected from the average bookworm of Ravenclaw house.

The meeting adjourned not long after that. We just decided that it would all begin at seven thirty tomorrow night before taking off on our separate ways. Ernie was the first to leave, followed soon after by Ginny and Luna. Anthony was going to go next, however, just before he could follow his housemate, Neville grabbed his shoulder, earning a confused look from the blond.

“Hang on, you better take this with you.” Neville grinned, grabbing Anthony’s hand and dropping something round in it. Lifting it up, he frowned at the sight of a gold coin exactly like his own DA one. He opened his mouth, probably to tell us that he already had one when I chuckled and pointed to the edge on the opposite side. Turning it over he saw TM clearly engraved in the metal.

“This one was created by Ernie. It’s for those of us who come to the leaders’ meetings.” I informed him, laughing as his jaw dropped. “You’ll need it so we can subtly inform you of any changes to our plan or whenever our next meeting is. Like I said, I’m making you my partner and your little distraction plan proves that you’re a genius.”

“He’s right. We want you in our circle. Do you accept?” Neville asked kindly.

“YES! I-um, mean yes, I’ll accept.” Anthony replied, blushing embarrassedly as we smiled at his outburst. “Well...I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.” He muttered before running out the door. Turning to each other, Neville and I just exchanged amused looks before heading back for our own common room, silently mulling over everything that had happened today.

I still didn’t entirely understand why Neville was so sure that these new creatures were such a huge concern, despite how vicious they appeared to be, but I guess we’d find out either way soon enough. I’d prove or dispel Neville’s fear of them tomorrow.

Personally, I was more keen to see just how capable my new partner was out in the field.


	6. Tobias

My name is Tobias.

As tired as I was from our busy day yesterday, I still managed to be up at the crack of dawn. To a hawk sunrise meant hungry prey coming out of their hiding places and they refused to sleep through it. Too bad if Tobias the boy was tired and wanted to sleep in, Tobias the hawk was adamant.

Seeing that the others weren’t going to be joining me in the land of the living anytime soon, I flew out a window Ax had the consideration to open for me the night before and into the morning air, flapping hard for every inch of altitude I gained. I was hungry and though I could eat the sweets we found on the train if I morphed human, I’d have to stay human for a while so it was properly digested. Which would probably take longer than I could stay in morph. Besides, it was risky being in unknown territory without my eyes and ears for long periods of time. That’s how I felt at least, though I’m sure Marco would just claim that I’m paranoid and too attached to them. Either way, hunting for prey sounded good to me.

However, just as I reached the outskirts of the village, all my thoughts of food disappeared in a flood of panic. Though they were clearly hesitant and jumpy, people were coming out of their houses, opening stores and briskly walking the streets. Though it wasn’t all that cold yet, a lot of them tended to shiver visibly and clutch their heads. Some of them even had tears falling from their eyes. I think it was safe to say that whatever we’d encountered last night was still around. What’s more, either these people lived in misery or they had an even stronger effect on them then they did on us. I had a feeling that the animal minds might have saved us again before.

'Food can wait, I better keep an eye on them.' I thought, frowning mentally as I swooped over the town. Observing the average lives of wizards might come in handy in determining who would be safe to approach inside the castle, but I was more focused on ensuring that no one wondered too close to the train and found my friends.

I started to relax before long though. While the people of the village did leave their homes often, they never strode near the train station. Heck, they were barely outside for longer than five minutes, most of them making beelines for the grocery store or what I assumed were pubs. No one wanted to stay out in the open and exposed to these invisible menaces, not that I blamed them in the slightest.

The only problem with that was that I couldn’t find out much about them. Other than the fact that most dressed in clothes that were in style in the Middle Ages and that most of them were either scared or infuriated, I couldn’t tell you anything. Not even their language. I mean, if they dressed like that, then did they keep the old English too, or did they move into the modern version with the rest of us? Or did they even speak English at all? Weren’t witches in those old movies I used to watch always good at long verses in Latin or some other unknown, dead language?

Mentally sighing, I just flapped and flew off towards the ‘ruins’. It was disappointing that I couldn’t learn anything from them, but it couldn’t be helped. The only way I could would be to get amongst them and with dark wizards everywhere amongst the good, that was hardly a safe plan. No, if I wanted to get some useful information it was best that I just scouted out the hidden castle. After all, it was no doubt very well defended, much more so than the village. Maybe even from normal animals. If so, then it was important that we at least know about any visible traps.

Half an hour later, I knew one thing for sure: those invisible creatures were in the sky and they were everywhere. My head was forever being hit with a slight anxiety and my body felt cold. The hawk mind wasn’t doing much better. In fact, it was beginning to panic. Raptors so very rarely felt the worrisome sensations that these specters were causing and it was freaking my bird instincts out. And of course, if that wasn’t enough, I was still forced to power flap every few minutes and my wings were at their limits. The air itself refused to warm up around these things, which meant no thermals. Heck, I think there was actually ice forming on my wings.

//Flying is definitely not the way to avoid these guys.// I muttered to myself, swooping away keenly as a gale blew by and took me around, but further away from, the castle wall. It surprised me as I flew by that the wall came to an opening below. That by itself wasn’t too surprising considering it was along what was probably a magically created, stone bridge over a very deep part of the lake, but it didn’t continue on very far on the other side. Instead, it met the side of a mountain and beside that, a suspiciously dark forest. The way the mountain met the water and wood would mean that anyone wanting to traverse that way would have to go fairly deep into the forest, but it still seemed like a very dangerous opening in their defences.

//So what’s the catch?// I asked myself skeptically. It was too easy and too dumb a move for the people that designed this place. But no matter how much I stared at it, I couldn’t see any kind of protection. The only thing that made me wary of the place was how strangely dark it got. That and the fact that it seemed so unprotected. That was usually a lure. //But I can worry about it later.// I decided, forcing myself to ignore how my wings were screaming at me as I turned back towards the train station. After all, the others were bound to wake up soon if they hadn’t already and the last thing I wanted to do was have them worried about me. Besides, I’m sure Marco would have fifty different theories about the forest’s defences in an instant, though maybe half of them will be realistic.

However, just as a strong breeze appeared from behind me, making me sigh in relief as it gathered under my wings and made my flight near effortless, a pair of owls crossed my eyes and flew right towards the ‘ruins’ with letters tied to their legs. That alone surprised me so much that I almost forgot to flap when the wind receded. I mean seriously? Wizards had taken silent, winged predators and turned them into MESSENGER PIGEONS? That’s it, Muggle or not, I’m putting my foot down in the magical world. Such impressive creatures should NOT be used in such a way. It’s degrading for birds of prey everywhere!

However, my indignation quickly disappeared as they reached the castle wall. At first they both seemed hesitant to even approach it, like it was something that they really should avoid. However, whether through stubbornness or necessity, they plunged forward anyway and screeched.

And that’s when I saw it, a defence. Stunned, I barely kept myself in the air as I watched the owls hit what appeared to be a visible, transparent wall that seemed to be made of air. Continuing to flap even after they hit it, the owls let loose pain-filled screeches as they torturously, slowly, forced their way through.

And that was it for me. I only watched for a few more seconds as the owls flew, pitifully, as opposed to their previous mastery of flight, towards the ruins before flapping as hard as I could to the others. Sore and tired be damned, there was no way I could let any of the others try that. They may not even survive the attempt.

....

//Tobias, are you within my range?// My head jolted as Ax’ voice struck it. He must have been projecting as far as he could for his call was extremely loud from where I was, just ten meters away from the train station and about twenty five up. It instantly gave me a headache! I was very tempted to snap at him in response, but I quickly smothered the urge. It was almost completely unnoticeable, but I easily could hear what I doubted anyone else, bar Cassie, could. Under the calm Ax generally exuded even in the more stressful situations was a very small sliver of panic.

//Don’t shout Ax, I’m fine.// I replied soothingly. I loved that my...uncle I guess, cared enough to panic, but I didn’t want him to fret over me. I wanted him to be happy as much as possible, it makes me, and everyone else when he’s in human form, happy too. And a little exasperated and grossed out, but we’ll stick with the happy part for now. //I’ve just been scouting the area, not getting into any trouble. And I have news you’re gonna wanna hear.// I added as I dropped down, flew expertly back through the open window and began to morph human. I didn't get to hunt and after all that, I wanted some comfort food, so I guess I had to settle for a couple hours of being vulnerable and hope that was enough for my digestion to do its thing.

“What were you thinking taking off like that?” Rachel demanded, though the intensity of it was kind of neutralised by the sheer amount of relief that filled her chastising tone. “You left us asleep while you took off into who knows how much danger on your own? You could have been killed.”

//Relax, I stayed out of their sight.// I said reassuringly. //I’m the team scout, I know how to do the incognito thing.//

“Under normal circumstances yes, but-"

“Let it go Rachel. It’s done. And he’s fine.” Jake interrupted softly, gesturing to my unharmed form as he did before a more serious look crossed his face. “So what is it that you want to tell us?”

//Well, for starters, flying in is the worst idea we could possibly come up with.// I stated before telling them everything, from the invisible things in the sky, to the magical ‘wall’ that the owls hit and what it did to them. by the time I’d done recapping my mini adventure, all of the others were frowning, looking either grave, contemplative or both.

“There’s spells guarding from the forest’s side at least on the edge leading out to the castle.” Marco stated firmly the instant I’d finished talking. “There would have to be, it’s too stupid to leave an entire quarter of the castle open like that and besides, something has to stop whatever wild animals living in there from attacking the kiddies. And let’s face it, a castle, rhymes making water do fancy tricks and lots of witches hats and broomsticks? There are bound to be some...interesting creatures nearby.”

“Let’s not forget that there are those creatures themselves if we’re going with that assumption.” Cassie added nervously. “Forests tend to have their own natural defences. Large predators, poisonous plants and animals. This one’s particularly dark, so even it’ll be harder to see any of them. In those conditions, the terrain itself can be extremely treacherous or we could just get lost.”

“And they’ll bank on it. The way the mountain side gets in the middle forces you to go in pretty deep to reach the castle right?” Marco asked, getting a nod from me. I couldn’t talk, I was too busy scarfing down bars of chocolate and something called cauldron cakes. “What about the other side, where it reaches the other wall?”

“A huge cliff.” I answered after a minute of concentration. I hadn’t thought about the far side too much, I’d only noticed it in passing. Thank God for high altitude and raptor eyes. “It looks like someone dug a mile deep trench almost right around the castle. On one side it ends when you get close to the lake and on the other side it goes into the forest.”

“Assuming that none of that is an illusion, the forest seems like the perfect way to enter. Most likely, you’ll be picked off by whatever’s inside.” Marco said with conviction. “A little bit of obvious risk so it doesn’t look too suspicious and then you snap the trap.”

“Well unless you want to risk a lot of pain and death like the owls I saw and risk catching the attention of those creatures we ran away from with our tails between our legs, it seems to be the only way.” I sighed. “Those walls may look old and like they’re falling apart, but you can bet your life on that being a trick. Though I’m confident that they are really as thick as look at least and they look thick enough for four humans to walk comfortably across side by side.”

“I guess you spare no expense when you have magic.” Rachel commented, looking a little impressed.

“What do you think would be our best move Ax?” Jake asked, scratching his head in frustration. “Risk flying in or a trek through a suspiciously perfect forest entrance?”

//I think that the forest would be the best option Prince Jake.// Ax replied hesitantly, amusing me enough to bring a grin to my usually blank human face. The Andalite was still struggling to deal with being an equal ally when his training was that of an obedient, do as your told soldier. And of course, three, two, one...

“Don’t call me Prince.”

//Yes, Prince Jake.//

“I just said that it’s the perfect trap and you wanna run right into it?” Marco cried, smacking his head with his hand. “Guys, there will be some kind of magic guarding the place and who knows what’s running around in there. For all we know, there could be a dragon in there!”

“True, but we have a better chance of fighting animals than whatever magic is protecting the other entrances.” Rachel replied with a keen grin. No surprise on her choice. “I say the forest.”

“And if I was right and a dragon or a demon beast comes to turn us into lunch, how are we going to fight them?” Marco asked exasperatedly.

“By becoming them.” Cassie answered, a small smile growing on her face as her eyes lit up with realisation. “And then we’d have their forms’ magic. Which would no doubt make it easier to not only see the castle, but also better protect us from its defences.”

“If we’re not gobbled up first.” Marco grumbled in defeat. “I should have just stayed home. This is just too insane.”

“Yay, I don’t have to make a final decision for once.” Jake said happily as he headed towards the carriage door. “The woods it is. Come on everyone, this route will apparently take some time and we don’t have much to waste.”

“Wow, Jake’s actually eager for adventure today.” Rachel grinned teasingly, getting an annoyed looked from Jake as she got up to follow him. “Let’s do it before he reverts to his ‘if we must’ look.”

“It’s insane, Rachel said her line, we haven’t the slightest idea what we’re up against and we’re willingly walking into a trap. We’re gonna be dead by nightfall.” Marco muttered under his breath as the rest of us followed.

That was normal. He always found every way we’ll end up dead and predicted that very result before every mission bigger than watching someone’s head from fifty feet up.

However, this time, though I didn’t say anything, I had to admit that I was a little scared hat he was right.

....

Even as wolves, the journey just to the edge of the forest took most of the remaining hours of the day. It wasn’t that it was too far away. In fact, you didn’t have to go too far out from the village to reach the mountains. However, we had to go around it in the, much safer woods on the opposite side of Hogwarts. Though I couldn’t tell you much about the village, I could tell you two things: one, if there were any kids in there, they were NOT going to be seen outside and two, whatever those invisible things were, they were enough to scare away pretty much ever animal that dared to come even close to even the edge of the village.

Then of course, the others had to head over a more climbable path in the mountain that was still a struggle for them. With waking up so late and the sun going down earlier, as it does in the colder months, the sun was setting as they finally made it to the dark forest.

“Yay, even better! Now we get to run around an already dark, creepy forest without the slightest chance of sunlight. What could be better?” Marco growled sarcastically, glaring up at the sun.

“So what? We’ll just go in as owls.” Rachel shrugged, giving me an apologetic look when I squawked. I’d perched myself quite carefully and comfortably on her shoulder and she’d almost knocked me right off. “It’s probably better that way anyway because we’ll blend in, be silent and easily avoid the creepy crawlies you’re so scared of.”

“How do you know that there isn’t something in there that wouldn’t love an owl sandwich?” Marco retorted, causing the rest of us to groan. Seriously, his paranoia was driving me crazy. “After all, owls seem to be very common around here. Anything could have followed them to this place.”

I hated to say it, but he did have a point. We’d seen plenty of owls flying around on the way here, something that both unnerved me and confused me, seeing as they were nocturnal creatures and I was used to them making the occasional attempt to kill me when my guard was down and when your chosen prey thrives in one area, a predator tends to eventually follow. Who knows, there might be strange creatures that like eating birds of prey here.

//I hate you Marco.// I muttered with a groan. Now I was getting really paranoid.

“True, but as owls we have a better chance of maintaining our direction.” Jake mumbled thoughtfully, resting his head on his chin. “If we get turned around in there, and knowing our luck we will, we could just fly over the tree line and find the ruins.”

“Maybe a less uniform morph approach is the best way to go.” Cassie suggested, looking at our interested faces with calculated eyes. “Half of us morph owl for the benefits they’ll give us and the rest of us morph wolf again. Between the wolf’s sense of smell, the owl’s eyes and both their ears, there wouldn’t be anything alive that could sneak up on us. We’d notice most, if not all threats long before we reached them.”

//It sounds like our best option.// Ax agreed.

//I agree with Cassie.// I stated, dropping down to the ground as Rachel nodded her consent, meaning that the plan was a go. //So who are my fellow wolves gonna be?// I asked as I concentrated of the furry, canine face. I may have thought to acquire a wolf, but I haven’t got an owl morph, so my choice was already clear. After all, a hawk in a dark forest at night is absolutely useless.

“I’ll go wolf.” Rachel called eagerly. Not that she had to, she was already growing a muzzle. As far as she was concerned, it wasn’t up for argument.

'No surprise there.' I couldn’t help thinking fondly as Jake just chuckled and nodded his head as Marco rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath how typical that was.

“Especially since bird boy’s growing an attractive fur coat and muscles all the girls dream about in their lovers.” He added a little louder, giving Rachel a cheeky smirk as she went to cry out indignantly only to make a squeaky, barking sound.

“You take the last wolf morph, Ax.” Jake said as he shook his head at their banter, a small grin on his face. “Cassie, Marco and I will take up the wings.”

//If that is what you wish Prince Jake.// Ax replied obediently, though he clearly liked the idea of being the stronger animal, and started his own morph, ignoring Jake’s mock groan as his blue fur turned grey. Rolling his eyes skyward, Jake just let the title slide and started his own morph, starting with the formation of a beak.

As the last of our morphs finalized, we wasted only a few more seconds focusing our senses towards the trees before heading in, three of us running silently across the ground and three bobbing and weaving through the branches.

That was something that made me much happier and relieved. Wolves were masters of stealth and owls make no sound at all when they fly. It was a very big reassurance, for it meant that anything that could be dangerous to us would find us completely invisible to one of their main senses.

Speaking of which, my own senses were on high alert. My ears were picking up rocks and leaves cluttering around in a small wind and my nose had already found the scents of countless rats, foxes and birds, but nothing that could be considered a cause for concern. Whatever protected this forest was nowhere near the edge. For now we were safe.

//Guys, the trees are getting closer together and branches are everywhere.// Jake called as we got about a hundred feet in. //They’re blocking our long range vision a lot, so stay on your guard.//

//Really, stay on their guard? And here I thought that they were all clear to take a nap.// Marco retorted sarcastically. //I mean, it’s not like they weren’t in who knows how much danger with our eyes at their best. The possibility of being digested by Hydra or choked to death by supernatural plants sounds like a delightful experiences.//

//That’s it Marco, no Hercules marathons.// I sighed as Rachel huffed in annoyance. //Even if Hydra was real, it was from Greek mythology, not English fairytales.//

//And our fangs and claws will cut through any stupid plants.// Rachel added fiercely as she leapt over a particularly large tree root, ripping a low branch with her teeth for emphasis.

//I believe we should stop the ‘back and forth’, as you call it, now.// Ax said firmly. Turning to him questioningly, I felt my stomach lurch as I took in his form. His posture didn’t exactly say scouting pack mate as it had before. Though he was still moving, his body had grown tense and a low growl spilled from his lips as he sniffed, moving his nose around close to the ground. //I have picked up a scent that the wolf does not recognize. Judging from the variety of very similar scents coating the ground, it can be deduced that whatever it is travels in packs.//

Tensing myself, I lowered my nose, sniffed and instantly knew what he was talking about. It wasn’t as foul an odour like the invisible creatures’, but it still was unpleasant and there was definitely more than one source. I’d say around twenty.

//It’s very similar to a spider’s scent.// Rachel commented as she walked up beside me, tilting her head in a very human, considering gesture. //But still different. Whatever it is though, it’s big. Each individual scent covers a fairly thick, wavy line.//

//Overgrown spiders. Great. Joy. What could be better?// Marco grumbled as he landed on a branch twenty feet ahead of me. //Are you sure blinding pain from flying through unknown, air like walls wouldn’t be a better option? You know that it might reach the ground where the trees meet the castle grounds anyway right?//

//Could you try being an optimist just once?// Rachel snapped.

//I doubt we’ll have to worry about that Marco. They would have made a castle wall before the trees if they didn’t want access to the forest. They would have to want something in here and they wouldn’t risk daily bodily pain.// Cassie said much more calmly.

//Well who says that they didn’t just make a door in it? It’s magic right?// Marco replied grouchily , but he said no more as he took off further into the woods.

The further we went, the thicker the trees got, turning our sprint into an obstacle course. Tree roots were becoming as big as we were, forcing some pretty impressive jumps out of us and the terrain became more hazardous. I huffed in annoyance as what had to be the seventh cliff appeared before us. They weren’t at spectacular heights, but it was definitely more than the wolf could handle.

//Great, we’re off course again.// Jake groaned, just as annoyed as I was, before gaining altitude and circling the area. //It gets small enough to jump up around forty metres to your left.// Forcing down my urge to growl at it, I just bared my teeth before following Ax to the left.

It didn’t take long to reach the decline at wolf speed, but we’d had to do so much winding around trees and boulders along the way and on the other side we lost our direction and probably would have ended up deep in the forest if it wasn’t for Cassie shooting up past the trees and seeking out the ruins/castle and setting us back on track.

However, it wasn’t direction that worried us. While we were waiting for Cassie, Rachel, Ax and I picked up a lot of scents, some familiar and many that were not and all of them were much stronger than what we’d been sniffing before.

//It would be wise to vacate this area. It is very well used.// Ax suggested calmly, though his wolf body was showing signs of nervousness. Not that I wasn’t worried myself, one of the unidentified scents was very fresh. The wolf mind said that it was less than ten minutes old.

//You’ll have to curve right a bit to get back in line with Hogwarts.// Cassie instructed as she flew back down toward us. //Otherwise you’ll be running into a more open, rocky area that looks like it’s home to something big.//

//Then maybe we should head that way. You know, to acquire whatever’s there.// Rachel suggested, failing to hide her keenness in her voice. //A powerful, magical creature would make a good battle morph and make getting to the school much easier wouldn’t it?//

//True, but I think it’s best that we don’t go looking for trouble in here. It’s already sure to find us.// Jake replied.

//What we really need to do now is find somewhere that it is concealed and infrequently visited.// Ax stated firmly as we took off again, running full speed through the trees. A slightly dangerous move seeing that we’d intended to move as stealthily through the forest as possible and full speed resulted in a bit of noise, but we needed to get out of that area quickly. We were sure to be caught otherwise. //Our time in morph is getting low. We must revert to our true forms soon.//

//I think there’s a good enough place nearby.// Said Jake as he flew ahead. Following as best I could, I watched curiously as he circled, swerved and climbed up and around the trees. When I’m the team’s scout, I usually have to use a lot less energy in observation, so his pattern amused me, but I have to admit that I’d never done it in such a thick and tricky forest. I supposed that even I would have difficulty seeing everything I needed to and we really had to be careful around here. //Yeah, there’s large, bushy area surrounding a rock wall a little ahead and to your left. I can’t see any animals in it or around the area so I think it’s as good as we’re gonna get.//

//Well, my nose isn’t picking up anything too close either right now, so let’s go for it.// I agreed, running along with the others as the three owls swooped past and landed right in the heart of our target. Pushing through the plants, I took one last cautious sniff to make sure nothing was approaching before focusing on hawk body.

//So how far do we still have to go?// I asked as soft fur turned into harder feathers and front paws disappeared, causing me to groan as I fell face first into the dirt.

“It...looked like we’re around halfway there.” Cassie answered croakily, already mostly human. I swear that she was only getting faster with her morphing process. Heck, the rest of us were speeding up too, yet she’s twice as fast as we are.

//Well then, good thing we’re not normal humans.// I commented as my body shrunk back down close to my natural height. //On foot, this trip would take around twelve hours for the average person.//

//And that’s without the extra time they’d need to deal with the natural obstacles and assuming that they lucked out and didn’t run into any-// “menacing creatures.” Jake added as his thought speak gave out, looking like a fluff covered version of himself. “Without our eyes in the sky, it would probably take a full day, if they didn’t just get lost in this place.”

“Heh, who needs magic? Nature’s all the defence this place needs.” Rachel smirked, looking like a grey haired young woman who really needed to cut her nails. “All it needs is-”

//DUCK!// I screamed, making everyone jump and jerk. They didn’t have time to take my advice, but fortunately, Marco had jerked back just enough for an arrow to miss his head and imbed itself into a crack in the stone wall.

“WHOA!” He cried, falling right down onto his butt, saving him from the second arrow, before crawling behind a boulder. “Who’s trying to kill me now? And arrows? Seriously, I thought we were walking to rhymes and flamethrowers, not medieval combat.”

Cassie, being the only one to finish demorphing, crept closer to the bushes and peeked out from the bottom as loud cries and the clopping of running horses met our ears. Close enough to normal and the smallest of us, I crept forward along with her as she gasped, openly gaping at what she saw.

“How did we miss them?” She muttered quietly to herself as I struggled through the underbrush. “There’s so many of them and they’re so big. And...”

//Centaurs?// I exclaimed, my demorph coming to a complete halt as I stared at them, completely gobsmacked. For there was no doubt about it. Standing about fifty yards away were no less than twenty three creatures, each one bearing the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a man or woman. //What do you know, they’re real. But they don’t seem to be the nice guys mythology says they are.//

“Oh really? What was your first clue?” Marco snapped quietly, though looking back, I found him looking just as astounded as I felt.

//What are these centaurs?// Ax asked as he finished his morph, poking one of his stalk eyes above the bush. //And why are they...interesting, they look like a link between humans and Andalites.//

“Reveal yourselves you unwanted freaks!” One of them shouted viciously as a number of them stomped their hooves on the ground. “The stars forewarned us of the arrival of you loathsome abominations and we shall not stand for you entering our land. Reveal yourselves so that we may kill you.”

“Oh, that’s gonna make me get up.” Marco rolled his eyes. “And who’s HE calling an abomination? He looks like the result of a psychotic, Frankenstein experiment. No offense Ax.”

//Allow me to reason with them.// Ax said calmly, clearly ignoring Marco’s comment, before expanding his thought speak to their minds. //Noble centaurs, we mean you no harm, nor do we intend to stay. We only wish to cross the forest to reach the school of Wizards.//

//DOWN!// I shouted, causing everyone to press as low to the ground as we could as a volley of arrows were released our way, ripping through the bushes and barely missing us.

“AAARRRGGGHHH!” Uh-oh. Whipping my head around, I found that I was wrong. Jake’s right hand was clasped firmly around an arrow buried deep into his shoulder as he screamed.

“Jake!” Cassie cried in panic, immediately jumping into action. Grabbing the first piece of clothing from the pile Rachel and I made before we demorphed she could without dislodging the morphing cube on top, she put it in Jake’s mouth for him to bite down and scream into as she ripped out the arrow before placing another shirt, Marco’s, much to his chagrin, firmly against the wound.

“How DARE you filthy creatures enter our superior minds.” The head centaur snarled as he approached, his bow and loaded arrow pointed right at Jake as the others stomped towards us behind him, growling wordlessly and furiously. “And you think that we would fall for such a pathetic lie? Strange werewolves are new, but both the old kind and all your fellow new and vile creatures have been running around OUR forest for far too long. Wizards and creatures alike tread in and out of OUR territory like they have a right to be here. And the stars have been very informative. Whatever part you play in the lowly wizards’ war, you only bring trouble and disrespect to our race. Therefore, we shall kill you all.”

“Superior minds? You lot can’t even figure out how to dress or groom yourselves.” Rachel retort, causing the rest of us to gape at her. “And I am no werewolf and I have not touched a single tree in your precious territory before today, nor do I ever feel the need to again. Now get over yourselves and leave us so we can get out of this stupid forest before I kick all of your conceded, egocentric butts!”

“Everybody, morph something that’s either too small to shoot or has a lot of padding within five seconds.” Marco cried quietly, thoroughly terrified. Though we barely heard him with the furious roars and thunderous galloping of the centaurs. Rachel had really done it this time.

//Rachel, next time you want to verbally abuse an army of pigheaded, temperamental idiots, at least wait until we can actually protect ourselves.// Jake cried exasperatedly, already halfway through morphing tiger. With all that was going on I hadn’t noticed that he’d started morphing, though with all the danger and his injury, I wasn’t surprised. //Tobias, Ax, try to hold them off. I’ll join you in a second. The rest of you, morph and get out of here!//

He didn’t need to tell us twice. Just as the first few centaurs reached us, Ax burst straight up and over the bush, eliciting shocked and confused cries from the opposing army. They had clearly seen us while we demorphed, but it was clear that none of them had seen Ax and he looked so similar to them that it was very disconcerting for them.

FWAP, FWAP, FWAP! Before any of them had managed so much as closing their mouths, Ax’ tail had already lashed out and destroyed a good seven bows, three with the first horizontal strike and two with each of the others. Screaming, six of them stumbled back as they covered deep cuts in their arms and hands.

“YOU MOCKERY O-ARGH!” I happily cut off the head centaur’s bellow as I flew right out after Ax and scratched away at his head with my talons. Backing up, the centaur pushed up onto its hind legs and battered away at me with his hands while his front legs tried to kick Ax only for both of us to move away and pass him, both of us aiming for other centaurs loading arrows.

//Unless we wish to kill them, we must flee now.// Ax stated as his tail slashed right through another bow, and through one of the screeching centaur’s fingers, only to have to run around a tree to avoid three arrows aimed for his torso. //I feel that my form alone is causing a severe offense.//

//And they don’t seem to appreciate us defending ourselves either.// I cried before letting out a screech of pain as one of four arrows coming my way grazed my wing. Diving towards the ground to avoid another round, I picked up as much speed as I could and flew straight under their legs, throwing off their aim and having a few turn my way, away from the others, as I weaved around the trees, only coming in occasionally to rip an arrow or a bow out of a centaur’s hand.

However, most of them were focused solely on Ax.

“Filthy beast!”

“You DARE mock our noble race?”

“Die foul creature!”

Insults and the like were being screamed by almost every centaur in the area as they surged at Ax, some aiming arrows from multiple directions while others were charging his way with branches held over their heads like clubs. My uncle was fighting pretty impressively, mimicking their kicks along with the constant flurry of his tail, however, there were too many of them and as much as I tried to help, I was an irritation at best.

//Guys, they’ll kill Ax if you don’t get the lead-out.// I shouted panickedly, swooping down to try and steal another bow. Unfortunately, this time the centaur was prepared for me and at the last second she whipped around and slugged me with the curved wood, sending crashing to the ground with a short, pained squawk where I stayed. The blow and the crash had me completely dazed. My head spun like crazy and white spots covered my vision, but I could still hear the triumphant cheer of the one who hit me, along with the continuous, enraged screams of the others, as her distorted form swam into my vision, pointing an arrow at me.

'Well, I guess this is when I say goodbye cruel world.' I thought humourlessly as I stared at the arrow. There was no way that Ax could save me and there was no way that I was getting up in time. So I just laid there and closed my eyes, waiting for oblivion. 'Sorry guys, I guess I’m done.'

“RRROOOOOAAAARRRRR!” Jerking at the sudden, ear piercing and terrifying roar, my eyes whipped open just in time to see the startled and scared centaur woman above me jump and launch her arrow into the ground a good two feet from my body as a flash of black and orange surged from our hiding place and crashed paws first into a bow wielding centaur, sending it crashing onto one of its brethren and on their way to the ground hard. Only waiting until his two victims hit the dirt and screamed, Jake pounced towards another two and sideswiped both of them with his powerful paws, his claws leaving deep slashes in their shoulders as the force knocked them both down.

The centaur woman forgot all about me at that and quickly loaded her bow as she aimed for Jake, but the tiger was a flurry of unpredictable motion, zigzagging, leaping, circling and attacking different areas of each target randomly. On top of that, the lightened aggression towards Ax had left him free to follow in Jake’s footsteps, though his charging and attack patterns where much more tame as he struck out with the flat side of his tail blade and either concussed and knocked out anyone who got in his reach.

//Tobias, are you ok?// Cassie asked worriedly, startling me as she appeared beside me. Already in wolf morph, she must have used Jake’s assault as a distraction and made her way around the battlefield through the surrounding trees. //We’ve got to get out of here. I can smell more coming and plenty of these guys are getting back up.//

//But if we run, they’ll just follow.// I groaned, struggling to get back up on my feet as another roar hit my ears. However, that one wasn’t the tiger’s impressive one and terror filled me for a few seconds. After all, this fight had been loud even before Jake announced his presence, we could have easily attracted the predators of the forest. However, I immediately relaxed as a grizzly bear ripped out the bushes it had been hiding behind as a bat flew in and disappeared in the night sky. It was just Rachel charging in to battle.

However, that didn’t stop my realisation from being any more terrifying. //Guys, this has been too loud and going for too long.// I cried, my panic quickly taking over. //Anything could be coming this way.//

//Scatter!// Jake shouted instantly, knocking another centaur sprawling as he ran through the forest. //We have a better chance of losing these guys and remaining unknown to the rest of the forest in groups of two than six. Morph birds when you’re safe and locate the school. We’ll meet up at the forest’s edge. Ax, grab the cube, Rachel watch his back and then both of you get out of there.//

//Yes Prince Jake.//

//You got it Jake.// Ax immediately made a beeline for the pile we’d made, slicing bows and striking bluntly at heads of any centaurs along the way, while Rachel swung paw after paw, sending even these heavy creatures flying like ragdolls. However, there was a price to pay, as no less than five arrows flew right at and were imbedded into her bulky body in all different places.

“RROOAARR!”

//Rachel!// I cried, instantly finding myself back on my feet. Spreading my wings, I was about to fly right back into the fray only for Cassie to jump in my way, leaving me bouncing off of her leg. //Cassie, get out the way, I gotta-//

//Get out of here.// Cassie interrupted hastily. //Rachel’s fine and Ax has the cube. We have to leave now, I can already hear the next group of centaurs.//

Looking underneath her, I sighed in relief as I found that she was right and that Ax and Rachel were already running as fast as they could away from the battlefield, in a different direction from Jake. I then tensed as I noticed that Cassie was completely right. The new centaurs she’d smelled were so close that the ground was rumbling from their galloping.

//Alright, let’s get out of here.// I agreed, turning and taking flight into the maze of trees, Cassie running full out right behind me and a group of centaurs not too far behind her, screaming at us to ‘stop and die by my arrow’. Sparing a look back, I found that the new arrivals, and no doubt the first group of centaurs too, had been coming from the same direction we had. That was downwind while I was a wolf, so it was no wonder that I hadn’t smelled their approach and our flyers were more worried about what was ahead of us. A rookie mistake, but I wasn’t going to blame them too much. I’d not exactly ever let them get much experience in my field of expertise and I couldn’t say that I was any better at my job at the moment. It was so dark that I had trouble seeing much of anything.

However, I pushed on with Cassie’s occasional warnings and between the two of us and the overwhelmingly thick trees, the centaurs’ shouts and jeers quickly grew fainter and fainter until we couldn’t hear them at all, their galloping becoming only a slight patter in the background.

//Well, that was a pleasant experience.// I commented sarcastically as the galloping finally completely disappeared from my hearing. Exhausted, I gave the area the best scan I could before landing on low branch, my wings killing me. //I sure hope the wizards are that welcoming.//

//You’re starting to sound like Marco.// Cassie responded, slightly amused, but I could tell that she agreed with me. //It’s interesting how they look so similar to Andalites and think just as highly of themselves. An amusing coincidence.//

//Yeah. Hysterical.// I said shortly. I was tired, scared and all I wanted to do was go to sleep back in my own, relatively safe meadow. Forgive me if I seemed a little rude. Cassie seemed to understand though because she didn’t pull me up on it.

Or it might have been because at that moment the sound on scurrying feet running over grass and rocks caught our ears and sent us both back to our tense states. Caught off guard, having not seen anything before, I whipped my head towards the direction we’d been running to before and after a few minutes, I found it just as Cassie snarled at its scent. Running across a clearing towards a large hole in the ground was none other than a Taxxon. And judging from the haste in its step, it had just found some tasty prey.


	7. Anthony

My name is Anthony.

I had spent the whole day unsure whether I was shaking in fear or excitement. I was actually going on my first mission tonight. It wasn’t a big one, just checking out a few weird creatures after hours, but it was still a mission of the DA. I was finally going to help with this mess You Know Who’s driven us into.

And I was terrified because there was still quite a bit of potential danger. The very thing that I had spent my life trying to avoid.

Before the DA, I never put a single toe out of line, never broke a single rule and was the most hesitant to so much as pick up a broom. Terry Boot, my best friend, used to tease me relentlessly about being a wimp as I buried my face behind a book. It took everything he had to convince me to go to the meeting at Hogshead when Granger asked us to join the group that would become Dumbledore’s Army, just as much to get me to sign her parchment and a repeat performance for the first two meetings after. When Umbridge forced its disbandment, that was the end of my rebellious streak.

However, as this year went on, my urge to rebel has only continuously grown, as has my guilt at doing nothing. Every day, I watched on as another student was ‘punished’ and did nothing but wince. I wanted nothing more than to make it stop, alleviate the kid’s pain with the medical spells I had been so proud of myself for mastering, but the fear of that being me always had me backing down. However, I never looked away. I observed every blow the victims took, every cut, burn and scream, burned it all into my memory and buried myself in guilt for not stopping it. But now it had become too much. I couldn’t stand it anymore, it had overridden my fear for myself and I was determined to help. I just hoped that my fear wouldn’t make me choke.

“Anthony, relax. You’ll be fine.” Terry said quietly beside me as we ate our dinner. Pulling myself out of my musing, I looked up at his concerned face to find that he was staring back and forth from my face to my shaking hand. “Those blood thirsty apes won’t even know your gone and what your observing is locked in an unbreakable cage. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Nodding my head, I gave him a nervous smile as I forced my hand to stay still. I’d told Terry everything when I got back to our common room last night and, after ribbing into me about never doing anything more dangerous than picking up a chair, he’d spent the entire night and day since reassuring me. He’d even volunteered himself to patrolling the Entrance Hall to make sure that we were safe when we came back in. Truthfully, I think that he was just as worried as I was. After all, his best friend, who was basically considered a chicken by most people who got to know me, was risking very painful punishment and being eaten alive. Who wouldn’t freak at that? He’s just a lot better at hiding it than me and knew that I needed reassurance.

“And Seamus will be right there next to you. The guy’s the master of stealth. You’ll be perfectly safe.” He added hastily, his own nervousness starting to get into his voice as the time of my departure came closer.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll be fine.” I nodded as I shoved a piece of potato into my mouth before turning back to him as he started playing with his food. “You just make sure that you will be too when we go to bed tonight.” I added as I swallowed, giving him a pointed look. “Logically speaking, you have a much higher possibility of being caught doing something consequential than I do.”

“True, but I’ve been practicing my lies all day.” Terry replied, trying to feign light heartedness. “If they catch me, I’ll just tell them that I’m looking for Luna because she promised to explain a puzzle I found in the Quibbler.”

“Since when do you read the Quibbler?” I asked amusedly, suddenly feeling a lot more relaxed. Terry could lie with the best of them when he wanted to. He found the Quibbler to be a complete waste of time, excluding the time Potter had a page in it in our fifth year, but he could easily convince anyone he wanted that he’d grown to love it more than life itself. Except me, I could always tell when he was lying. He’d be fine.

“Since the Prophet turned into a load of crap and the Quibbler started backing Potter.” He answered sincerely before grabbing the ketchup bottle and making me chuckle as he drowned his food in it. Smiling, I turned my attention back to my own meal and ate it all instead of playing with it like I had before. I don’t know how he does it, but Terry always manages to calm my nerves.

....

My nerves had returned by the time everyone started leaving the Great Hall. Fiddling with my fingers, I walked as casually as I could towards the Entrance Hall, thankful that my robe covered most of my shaking.

“Hey Goldstein.” Seamus called happily, stopping me in my tracks as I reached the door. Taking a deep breath, I turned around and gave him the best curious look I could. This was part of the plan we’d discussed during the day, a way that we could meet up and disappear without causing much suspicion, but for it to be successful we both had to look as innocent as possible. The problem with that was that I had no experience as an actor. Terry and Padma always told me that I was an open book.

A slight frown crossed Seamus’ face for a split second and I mentally sighed, knowing that meant that I hadn’t quite succeeded at not looking guilty, but it was gone as quick as it came and was replaced by his old, cheerful smile.

“Hi Finnegan. Can I help you with something?” I asked, struggling to keep my voice from shaking.

“Yeah, I was hoping that you could help me out with my Transfiguration homework. I just can’t get a couple of spells down without causing a small explosion.” He replied, looking like the perfect definition of sheepish as the female Carrow passed by, following the whispering Weasley and Lovegood. I wasn’t sure if he was that good of an actor or if he was using a real event and was actually sheepish. Probably both knowing his infamous tendency to pyrotechnics. Either way, I was jealous.

“Sure, I’m happy to help another student achieve their academic excellence.” I said with a nod, wanting to kick myself the moment the words came out. I sounded like such a dork.

“Great, let’s go then. No time like the present.” Seamus grinned merrily, swinging an arm around my shoulders and directing me down the hall in the opposite direction to the courtyard. When we were halfway down the hall, Seamus stared around casually and, only finding Terry looking a little lost in sight, whipped open the first door we reach and pushed me in to what proved to be a broom cupboard, closing the door behind him.

“Remind me to get you a book to hide behind the next time we’re putting on a show.” He said lightly as he whipped out his wand and cast a few simple silencing charms as I created a light for us.

“I know, I’m a bad actor. Sorry.” I muttered dejectedly, biting my lip. I knew the show that I put on was horrendous and that was bad. If I was going to be Seamus’ partner like he wanted me to be, I needed to be able to act innocent or I’d get us caught and my fears would become a reality.

“Hey, no worries. We’ll just have to develop your poker face. You’ll get better in no time.” Seamus said kindly, giving me a friendly jab in the arm. “Not everyone’s a natural actor, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn. And you learn things pretty quickly Goldstein, you’ll be fine. We’ll just keep your nose behind a book until you get it.”

“Why not? Nothing unusual about that.” I nodded with a small grin of my own, though I couldn’t stop feeling a little down. I’ve spent basically my whole life hiding behind a book. Was I ever going to learn how to face the world without one? I should have asked Granger how to do it while I had the chance, she used to be always behind a book too.

'Well, I don’t have one right now. Hopefully I’ll learn quickly.' I thought as we fell into silence and waited, removing anything that could be used to identify us from our robes.

We waited like that for nearly half an hour before the last scurrying feet met our ears. A couple of minutes later, Terry opened the door with a finger pressed to his lips and nodded his head towards the exit. Nodding back, Seamus walked swiftly and silently out and into the hallway. Moving after him, I tried to duplicate his movements, but flinched every time my feet hit the ground as the thump of the contact met my ears.

Blushing embarrassedly at my utter lack of stealth, I stared at the ground as we made our way down the hallway, just grateful that Seamus didn’t comment on it.

I actually sighed in relief as Seamus and I opened the large doors and headed out. Not only was there far less chance of us being seen with no one coming this way and our robes blending into the night, but the soft earth and open space remained silent as I walked on it. It was only an illusion that I’d gained some talent in being stealthy, but I was happy to embrace it, if only for a little while.

“Come on, we’ll head around the back of the greenhouses. Get something between us and the windows.” Seamus said softly as he took off at a jog around the edge of the courtyard, waving for me to follow. Pressing my side against the wall, I followed him as quickly as I could, silently thankful that the school was so big for the first time ever. Running through that giant maze to get to all my classes on time had definitely made me pretty fit.

We pulled into a run as we made it to the greenhouses, determined to slip by unnoticed by Professor Sprout as she did some late night watering, and made it near Hagrid’s hut in no time. Jumping the fence into one of the paddocks Hagrid used for his classes, we checked his hut and let out relieved breaths at the sight of the closed curtains before slowly walking toward it and the cage of screeching creatures beside it.

“Wow, Hagrid wasn’t kidding.” Seamus muttered, gawking from his crouched position against the round hut wall as we stared around it at the giant centipedes. “They really do eat everything in sight.”

I could only nod as I felt my eyes widen in astonishment at the sight. Hagrid must have found more, because now there was a good seven locked in the cage...that resided in a hole at least a foot deep. The only time the creatures stopped their incomprehensible shrieking was when they were biting at the metal bars of their prison or the dirt underneath it.

'They actually made that hole.' I realised as I watched one use its pincers to shovel dirt into a pile above the bars before eating it. Three others were doing the same thing before switching places with the rest to try and nibble through the bars.

“These ones look a lot more active than the one Hagrid brought in.” Seamus commented as I nodded in agreement. These ones were definitely far more erratic and desperate. Their bodies were extremely tense too and as I looked one over more critically, I noticed that that every one of its pincers were frequently snapping, the faint sound resulting from it reaching my ears as I noticed the movement. Moving along its body, I sucked in a deep breath as I reached the head, making Seamus focus his worried eyes on me.

“What is it? Is another one of these things around?” Seamus asked, waving his wand around erratically. Seeing the wisps of flame already flickering at the end, I quickly shook my head.

“No, it’s the centipede thing’s eyes.” I replied shakily, biting my lip nervously. “They’re staring hungrily at each other every time they look away from the ground. Like they’re barely able to resist...”

“Hagrid did say that they were cannibals.” Seamus tried to say casually, though his voice betrayed his own shaken nerves as the fact hit home. “Hopefully they’ll eat each other into extinction. It’s amazing that they haven’t already.”

“They’re tempted.” I muttered, swallowing thickly as I watched two of them stare at their brethren’s legs again. “They really want to eat each other, but they’re holding themselves back. Though with how long they’re looking at each other and how sharply, I doubt that their wills will hold out much longer.”

“Wow, you have a good eye for details.” Seamus commented, turning to me with a weak, but impressed smile. “I didn’t even notice their eyes moving to each other.”

“I’m always told that I’m overly observant.” I admitted, smiling bashfully at the praise. “I pick up a lot of little details that most people miss. Terry tends to get annoyed at me for being overly critical when I’m reading about or observing something because I spend so much time on one thing.”

“Hermione tends to do the same thing, though it’s annoying because she’s always instantaneous.” Seamus chuckled. “Makes me feel dumb when she’s got ten subtle details in the time span it took me to get the basics down. But it’s good that you can do it.” Had added quickly as a frown started to form on my face. It wasn’t exactly pleasant that yet another person I actually had developed the courage to...well, befriend I think, found my over critical eye annoying. “It’s exactly what we need for this kind of work. You’ve already figured out more than I my dumb brain would have discovered watching these things all night on my own.” He added with a bright grin. I decided right then that I really did like Seamus. He did have a tendency to say things before thinking them through, resulting in more than a few people being insulted by him, but he was always quick to fix the situation and make you feel welcome or appreciated, even if it meant belittling himself.

Smiling appreciatively, I turned back to the creatures to observe them some more only for a flicker of movement in the corner of my eye make me push Seamus back against the wall and out of sight.

“What’s the matter?” Seamus whispered, all traces of his light heartedness gone as he tensed against my arm. Not answering him, I slowly crept past him and towards the side of the hut facing the castle. Peeking around the corner, I strained my eyes to focus on the small light coming toward us from the castle door and vaguely made out the form of a man, followed by ten students of varying heights. They were walking hastily and within a moment they were close enough for me to make out some distinctive features. An example was the pudginess of the leading man that could only be Professor Slughorn, the cowardly potions Professor.

“Hurry up, all of you!” Seamus and I jolted as his voice hit our ears. The jolly tone of last year and the constantly nervous one of this year were both completely missing. In their place was a harsh, demanding bark that could be heard from a good distance away. Moving further back so as not to be noticed as he and his group got very close, I focused my eyes on his face and felt my jaw completely drop.

Slughorn was always a kind, albeit pompous and self-centered, man with a constant air of jolliness or nervousness depending on the situation. However, the man before me was as far from that as you could get. His form was ramrod straight and his face was the perfect picture of fierceness and cruelty. It was such a different look that for a moment I wondered if some Death Eater was using Polyjuice potion before scrapping the idea. Slughorn was far too well known for being too cowardly to have even a single toe on either side of the war. He was absolutely useless to our side and the Death Eaters’.

“Come on, get those meat bags moving!” He snarled as he approached the hut, glaring as the students behind him started lagging. “That blundering giant told me he captured another group of those dumb, overgrown insects and we CANNOT afford to lose any more of them. We’re running out of time, so unless you want to die a painful death, GET MOVING!”

I was stunned still as the students sped up and reached the hut, moving across the other side and out of my sight. Slughorn was beyond incapable of being even slightly imposing and yet here he was, looking almost as intimidating as Snape did in my first year. Ice cold shivers ran down my spine as Seamus and I slowly moved back around to the corner we were at before just in time to see Slughorn stop in front of the cage with the most disgusted look on his face that I’d ever seen.

“You incompetent fools! If we didn’t need you so bad I’d leave you in that cage to rot.” He spat before snapping the lock in two with a wave of his wand and levitating the cage out of the hole. Instantly the giant centipedes flooded out of it, screeching in what was clearly joy as they charged at the vegetable patch beside them only to shriek in pain a second later as Slughorn unleashed a viscous Cruciatus Curse on all of them at once. The act left me gaping in horror, not only that he would use such a torturous curse and the immeasurable pain that those creatures were going through, but also the fact that he was able to use it on all of them at once. Only a handful of wizards worldwide could use it on up to two people simultaneously and he was using it on SEVEN! The spell is powered by the enjoyment of causing pain, for him to cast it on so many living things at once would have to mean that this guy enjoyed it more than even You Know Who did.

“That is not Slughorn.” Seamus muttered, sounding like he was going to be sick. Feeling my own stomach’s contents trying to jump up my throat, I just nodded in agreement before turning away and covering my ears in a feeble attempt to block out the screaming as I bent over and took deep breaths. It wasn’t until a minute later that the screaming stopped and by that point I had dropped to my knees simply from shaking too much to remain standing.

“Let that be a lesson to you. Don’t get caught again.” Slughorn said venomously as low screeches and the scuffling of uncountable limbs hit my ears. Not trusting my legs to support me, I dropped onto my hands and crawled around Seamus’ leg to watch as the centipede creatures’ wobbly forms stumbled their way towards the vegetable garden again. “No, don’t even think about it! We’ve lost enough time as it is and that blundering oaf could be back at any moment. Back into the forest NOW!” Slughorn roared, eliciting scared screeches from the creatures as they scurried as fast as their pain ridden legs could. Muttering darkly under his breath, Slughorn stomped his way after them, the students, all of which looked either nervous or as cruel as Slughorn himself, following hastily behind him.

“GO ON, MOVE IT!” Slughorn’s bellow made me jump and fall flat on my stomach as the last of the kids entered the trees, the malice and cruelty lacing his voice no less terrifying at a distance. “Production MUST be completed tonight, otherwise we’ll die! Filch’s snooping forced us to seal the old entrance, we have no other way down!”

“Down where?” Seamus asked, so clearly confused that he may as well of had a floating question mark above his head. “Those things are working with Slughorn? And what’s up with him and those students?”

“Most of them were Slytherins.” I commented, not really sure that it was helpful just yet, but putting it out there anyway. “One was a Hufflepuff and the two youngest ones were Ravenclaws, but the rest all wore the Slytherin crest.”

“Oh, so for the majority of them this was perfectly in character.” Seamus responded with a scowl, though his confusion was still his dominant emotion.

“They may be controlling Slughorn.” I suggested, rubbing my chin as I thought over this new chain of events. “As their Head of House, he would be easy enough to get alone, not that Snape or his associates would care that they cursed him.”

“Or Snape did it himself.” Seamus nodded in agreement, staring sharply at the forest. “And he just released the oversized creepy crawlies back into the forest for some kind of job that lives rely on because Filch stuck his nose where it didn’t belong. I think we just gained more info than we expected to tonight.”

“And we’re going for more?” I asked with mixed feelings. One part of me was dying to find out what was going on while the other didn’t want to go anywhere near the Forbidden Forest.

“You bet we are.” Seamus nodded determinedly, already moving toward the trees. “Whatever this is, it’s really important to them and it relates to our job. We’re supposed to be observing these creatures and that includes what they’re being used for. Let’s go.”

Well, the terrified part of my mind couldn’t argue with that logic so my knowledge seeking side cheered for joy as I followed the Irishman into the trees. It looked like we were going to discover the true purpose that these things were here for and that was valuable information.

....

I had to bite my lip to prevent myself from screaming in irritation as we moved through the forest. I’d long gotten over the fact that it was creepy and since we hadn’t run into anything too unpleasant, my mind had completely ignored that problem in favour of the one that I was causing.

See, if they’re not used very frequently, even the best designed paths become overgrown with bushes and tree branches. And of course, if you’re not a stealth master like Seamus, bushes and branches make a lot of noise as you walk through them. So I might as well have been transfigured into an elephant and set free to demolish everything in my way with all the sound I was making.

As a result, Seamus and I had to keep a good distance from Slughorn and his little pack. In fact, we were so far behind that the only things we had to follow was the flickering lights of lit wands in the distance and Slughorn’s constant bellows. It was amazing that he hadn’t attracted every gruesome creature hidden in the forest.

I only felt worse whenever I managed to catch a glimpse of Seamus’ face. We couldn’t light up our wands for fear of being noticed and we were so far away that the little light gained from the other group and the pitiful amount of moonlight we got made it even harder for us to move and Seamus was constantly growing more annoyed. With the situation or me, I don’t know, but every time I saw it, his frown had grown deeper.

“At this rate, we’ll lose them and our way in here.” He muttered irritably under his breath as he slinked past another branch only to tense when I accidently made it rustle. “This is going to end up pointless.”

“I’m sorry.” I muttered for the umpteenth time that night. Maybe I should have stayed back and let him search the woods. He’d be alone, but a hell of a lot less noticeable and a lot closer to the light source. Not even looking back, Seamus just patted my shoulder in what I assumed was an attempt at reassurance as he continued on and climbed onto a reasonably thick branch, trying to get a better view.

That gave me an idea. Looking up, I looked over the trees above us and along our path and smiled as I found what I’d hoped for.

“Hey Seamus, why don’t we go for the high ground?” I asked excitedly. As he turned to me with what looked like a raised eyebrow, I pointed above us at a thick branch overhead. “The tree branches are so long, thick and interwoven with each other that we can use them as pathways and with a simple spell, I can make balancing on them a breeze. That way, our vision of our prey is improved dramatically while we have better camouflage to hide behind.”

“Not a bad idea. Not bad at all.” Seamus smiled brightly, filling me with pride. “Going for the better cover and bird’s eye view at the same time. How very Ravenclaw of you.”

“Why thank you.” I beamed as I pulled out my wand and cast a levitating charm on myself, floating up until I was standing wobbly on a branch six meters high with Seamus floating up right beside me. With a few precise flicks of my wand and a silent chant, air started to ripple around and cushion our feet, stabilising us on the branches as perfectly as if we were on flat ground.

“Nice spell.” Seamus commented, tilting his head as experimented with his feet, walking along the branch without any more difficulty than walking at the beach. “So this will stay effective even when we cross trees?”

“Yep. We have about half an hour before it fades away. But that should be plenty of time.” I answered proudly as a smirk grew on Seamus’ face. “Plus, the concentrated air will slow down our decent speed, meaning that we can jump longer distances and if we fall, we have plenty of time to catch ourselves. It also has the bonus effect of taking most of our weight, so even weaker branches won’t snap under us.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go hunting.” With that, he took off at a run to the end of the branch and leapt to the next. Finally feeling useful again, as opposed to a hindrance, I let out a soft laugh as I followed him at a more careful pace, pleasantly surprising myself as I discovered that I was actually making much less noise up in the tree than I did on the ground.

Following the lights became relatively easy at that point, both due to the new angle and because my quieter, higher movements let us get in closer, at least geographically. More than once we actually had to stop and let them pull ahead again, my spell and branch path plan making our trek much easier than the random, rough terrain that Slughorn’s team had to deal with, though the centipedes had so little trouble that they’d gotten pretty far ahead.

It wasn’t until the time span of my spell was almost up and I pulled my wand out in preparation of casting it again that Slughorn finally stopped his pack in a clearing. One that contained one centipede and a huge tunnel opening.

“What are you doing up here, Taxxon?” Slughorn yelled, turning red in the face as his hand dug into his pocket for his wand. “You’re supposed to be digging the tunnel to the chamber! We’re almost out of TIME!” He screeched as his wand was pointed right for the creature’s mouth. However, before could utter a single spell, the creature let out a series of strange, hasty squeaks and shrills that not only stopped Slughorn in his tracks and calmed him down, but also caused all the desperate looking students to sigh loudly in sheer, unadulterated relief.

“Um, I don’t suppose speaking giant centipede is in your outstanding list of skills is it?” Seamus muttered lightly as we watched on, his eyes widening at the sight before them.

“Sorry, but no, I haven’t picked up my freak of the week language guide lately.” I muttered back as I watched Slughorn deflate and lower his wand.

“Good, it’s about time.” He grumbled, still trying to look intimidating, though it had much less success than before. Without another word, he waved his hand towards the tunnel marched hastily down into it with all of the students practically running down after him while the creature strode off into the woods, probably looking for anything tasty that would fit in its mouth.

“Well, I’d say we found the project Slughorn had these guys working on.” I whispered nervously as I watched the centipede scurry away. Terrified shivers coursed through my entire body as a very real possibility crossed my mind. There could be hundreds of those things looking for a good meal around here and I doubt that they’d have any problem climbing trees. “Can we go now? You know, before we’re surrounded and ripped apart?”

“Not just yet.” Seamus shook his head, though even in the little light I could see that he’d gone pale. I have no doubt in my mind that he was thinking along the same lines as I was. “Now’s the best chance we’re gonna get at seeing where that tunnel goes. There are other humans inside, meaning that we won’t look too suspicious down there if we’re seen and less likely to get eaten by the centipedes if they’re really working for Slughorn. We need to find out what they’re up to.”

“I was afraid that you’d say that.” I groaned forlornly, but got up anyway and followed him down the tree trunk. If the project that they were working on, and from what I’ve observed of Slughorn’s bellows and the centipedes eating habits is correct then it was making the tunnel itself, was completed and that one centipede had left the area, then it stood to reason that others probably did the same thing. So the tunnel was probably void of them at this precise moment. Meaning that it was the safest place to be.

Obviously, there were many factors that could disprove that theory, but at that point in time I ignored them completely in favour of foolish hope and optimism. It was the only way that I could follow Seamus to the tunnel entrance without screaming and running as fast as I could back towards the castle before even getting halfway to it.

“Blimey, that is deep!” Seamus gaped as we reached the hole in the ground. He wasn’t kidding, the moonlight was shining right down into it and it still grew pitch black before you saw so much as turn. “Once we enter, I don’t think we’ll be coming out for a while.”

“Then I suggest that we enter now!” I replied firmly, ignoring the tunnel completely in favour our forever watching our surroundings for any sign of danger. “Before the centipedes decide to return home or Slughorn decides his business here is done and catches us.”

“Fair call.” Seamus said with a not quite successful grin before taking a deep breath and marching on into the tunnel. Desperately trying to stop myself from shaking, I followed his lead once again, this time grabbing his shoulder and not letting go. If he asked, I’d tell him it was so we wouldn’t be split up in the dark cavern, but really, I needed help to stop me falling to my knees in pure terror.

....

I have to admit it wasn’t as difficult as I’d imagined. I’d expected the tunnel to be like a mine with numerous passages, an underground maze that was easy to get lost in, but it was very straight forward. A single passage that did twist and turn, rise and fall (mostly fall), but still led you exactly where those using it intended to go. The only problem was that it seemed to be never ending.

“No wonder Slughorn or whoever’s impersonating him got so mad at the creepy creatures being captured.” Seamus muttered under his breath as he raised his lit wand, trying and failing to see the end of the tunnel. “Can you imagine the time it would have taken to make this?”

“While simultaneously making sure that it was structurally sound enough not to collapse, it would normally take many months without magic. Maybe even years.” I answered immediately as we made our way past another left turn. Furrowing my brow, I pulled my wand out onto my flat palm. “Point me.” I whispered, causing my wand to spin until it pointed dead north. “Just as I thought.”

“You’ve been doing that quite a lot. Is something the matter?” Seamus asked curiously a he eyed my hand. “This path has no branches, so why do you feel the need to check our direction?”

“Because I had a theory about where whatever this tunnel leads to is and the general direction we’ve been travelling in confirms it.” I replied as I wrapped my hand tightly around my wand. “In order for Filch to stumble onto their old tunnel that they sealed, it had to be in the castle. And this tunnel leads back towards the castle, although it twirls so much that either whoever had it built intended to confuse anyone who wasn’t supposed to find it or the creatures got distracted and carried away.”

“They made an entrance to some secret place in Hogwarts that far away?” Seamus asked, absolutely bewildered. “And I thought the fact that it goes deep enough for the dirt wall to turn into pure stone was strange enough. Why would they do it so far away?”

“Probably so no one else who wasn’t supposed to know about it would find it again.” I suggested, it being the most obvious answer. “But it also might have been a geological thing. You know, like the upper levels of soil closer to the school being insufficient to sustain a safe opening. The dirt below however, might have the right structural density.”

“So you know about building mines too?” Seamus asked, smiling lightly as his confusion disappeared. “Do you know how big of an explosion I can make in here?”

“In theory, yes. But I don’t recommend making one at all.” I added hastily, growing worried as I watched his smile grow. “Muggles use them to help extend their mines, but even in the most controlled situations they can still turn around and cause a cave in.”

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t plannin to kill us.” Seamus chuckled softly. Realising that he was teasing me, I folded my arms and pouted, further annoying myself a moment later when I realised that I was acting like a little kid. But I couldn’t help it. Sometimes I wondered if I had a note stuck to my back: super nerd, tease me!

I guess Seamus decided that he’d taken it a little too far as he turned a little sheepish and opened his mouth a for an obvious apology. However, it was cut short as we turned another corner to find, as cliché as it sounded, a light at the end of the tunnel. But what caught our attention even more was the noises that were coming from it. Though it was faint, I could distinctly make out a sloshing sound, similar to the small ripples of water crashing into the shore of the lake on the surface. Along with it was the sound of Slughorn barking orders, some deep, gravelly voices that responded in broken English and a faint humming sound that made me think of winged insects only MUCH louder.

“Looks like we found it.” I muttered nervously, my voice barely above a squeak as Seamus whispered Nox and put out the light of his wand. “So are we going in or are we running back out?”

“We’re going to those rocks piled by the entrance.” Seamus whispered, crouching low as he slowly made his way to the outcropping of large boulders three feet past the doorway. “Keep your wand in hand and stay low. Be ready to run and fight.”

Barely stopping myself from whimpering as a loud scream and what sounded like the thump of someone crashing to the ground, I dropped to all fours and crawled after Seamus, not trusting myself to move quietly enough any other way. Slowly reaching the boulders, I spared a look at Seamus first as I sat up on my haunches and turned absolutely bewildered at the sight of him. His face was still as stone with his eyes as wide as they could get and his jaw dropped low enough for me to comfortably put my fist in his mouth. He was literally shocked still. Suddenly curious beyond belief at what could possibly render the stealthy, witty Gryffindor into a stone statue, I turned to what I thought would be a cavern and fell right into almost the exact same state, though mine probably held a little more curiosity and a lot more horror.

This was no crude, centipede made cavern. This wasn’t even recent construction. This was ancient, legendary and infamous.

It had clearly been altered more recently, but even without ever being told the slightest detail about what this place looked like, I knew exactly where we were. From where this new tunnel connected to it was a long, shiny, stone walkway with pools of grey sludge filled water on either side of it. At the end of it, it connected to stone walls on the sides with another, deeper pool of the same liquid in front of it. On the other side of that pool was a stone wall with an absolutely HUGE carving of a man’s head. And if that wasn’t enough information to assume where we were, the two shallower pools had serpent statues all along the pathway and near the deeper pool was all that remained of the deadly Basilisk that ran wild throughout the school in my second year.

We’d just followed the weird Slughorn’s group right into the Chamber of Secrets! I didn’t know anyone still at the school even knew where it was, let alone have the ability to enter it. The only people known to have the necessary talent to open the door were Potter and You Know Who themselves.

“This is simply unreal.” Seamus seemed to have found his voice and when I finally stopped staring dumbstruck at the chamber, I found that his eyes were zipping around their sockets like lightning. “How is any of this stuff working?” He cried in pure disbelief as his eyes focused on the ceiling. “I’ve never seen anything like that before, but I know Muggle technology when I see it and Granger was forever beating into our heads the Muggle toys don’t work at Hogwarts.”

Following his line of sight, I focused my eyes on an odd, black device hanging above the very center of the room. It reminded me of the multi-globe bathroom lights Muggles use, only it was more egg shaped and it was shining red rays into the grey, sludgy water, giving it a faint pink glow. A thick cord was connected to it and following it down, I found a strange, square device the size of a book cupboard with lots of buttons that kind of reminded me of something from that Star Trek show Terry became obsessed with when we decided to try out the Muggles’ televisions before our sixth year.

“Hurry up and take the wands!” Shock ran through my system once again as Slughorn restarted his bellowing. However, this time it was by what he’d just said. Snapping our eyes back to the biggest dry area, we simultaneously gawked as not only Slughorn, but every one of the students with him handed their wands to what looked like humanoid lizards. Those things had deadly looking blades and horns all over their bodies and they were giving them their wands? A wizard never wants to be separated from their wand at the best of times. Not only are we defenceless without them, a very dangerous state to be in with those walking death traps walking out of what looked like tunnels in the stone walls, but we are very sentimental about them. I know from experience that being separated from your wand was like losing a limb. A wizard never gives it up willingly.

“It seems he’s finally accepted that he can’t escape, so don’t grab so tightly this time! When I come back in here, I don’t want to have to get any deep cuts healed again. That medic is a pain to listen to.” Slughorn went on as he walked up to the very edge of the pool below Salazar’s face and kneeled down. I watched, thoroughly confused yet again much to my irritation, as he waited for two of the bladed lizards to clasp firmly onto his arms before tilting his head to the side and leaning over the water. A few seconds later his tense body turned slack and something dark and small fell...right out of his ear? And into the pool.

“What was that?” Even as I asked, my attention was already turning back to Slughorn as he suddenly started shaking erratically. That hard arse attitude he’d had before was completely gone, replaced by the cowardly personality I was used to seeing from him.

Then there was the lizard creatures! In the time span of five seconds, they went from obedient minions to harsh masters. Snarling at Slughorn, they forced him onto his feet and dragged him towards the tunnels...which on closer inspection I noticed had prison bars on small cells that looked like they used to be piped passages for water to flow in or out of the chamber.

“I...I can’t get my head around this.” Seamus gulped as he watched Slughorn twitch sporadically. “One second he’s completely out of character, cruel and in charge, then a slug looking thing falls from his ear and his servants are his jailors. What is going on?”

I couldn’t answer him. I had no idea. I just watched on as the process was repeated with each student, one after the other. However, their reactions after what Seamus assured me were slugs was different. Some screamed for help while others tried to break free only for a blade to be placed very closely under their throats, ending it instantly. It was a first year that scared me the most though. Even from so far away and behind everyone, I could see her crumble in the lizards’ arms. And as they turned her towards the cells, her face was displayed with the saddest, most broken expression I’d ever seen. Like she’d given up all hope and was wishing for nothing more than her life to end.

“What have they done to these people?”

“I don’t know. We can find out when we’ve got them out of here.” Seamus replied aggressively, a look of intense rage blazing across his face as he moved to stand up, his wand arm tensed for action.

“NO!” I hissed fearfully as I whipped my arm out and yanked him back down, startling him so much that I had to cover his mouth with my free hand to prevent being heard. “We can’t save them now! We’re seriously outnumbered in here by bladed creatures we know nothing about with who knows how many more of them nearby, giant, carnivorous centipedes that could come up behind us at any time and the prisoners’ wands have already disappeared.” I said hastily, wildly waving my arms from one example of my speech to the next. “Those guys could be resistant to magic for all we know and the prisoners are defenceless.”

“We can’t just leave them like this!” Seamus hissed back fiercely, rage pouring from his eyes. In any normal situation that look coming my way would have scared me right into shutting up and backing down, but at that point I was far beyond fear. Self preservation had brought back my logical mindset and brought an overwhelming amount of stubbornness along with it.

“If we try to help them now we will fail.” I whispered heatedly, looking right into his fiery eyes with my own icy cold ones. “And then at best, they suffer more than they are now and worst case scenario, we all die or we join them in their gloom. If we leave without them knowing we were here then we can get help from the DA and increase our chances. It’s our best option.”

Seamus glared at me as I talked and when I was done, I just glared right back. The simple fact was that I was right. I could tell that he knew it too, he just didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t like it either, but we had no choice if we actually wanted to succeed. After a few more moments, Seamus broke eye contact with me and sighed sadly, nodding his head.

“You’re right. We’ll wait here a few more minutes and see if we can gain any more information on this place and what’s going on, then we’ll leave.” He conceded before biting his lip and staring back out at the chamber. Leaving him to gather details on the area, I focused more on my ears, listening intently to everything said.

“Don’t worry young one, we still have a chance at freedom.” I scrunched my eyes shut tight and tried to block everything else out as Slughorn’s extremely faint voice carried over to me. It was only the miracle of a very strong echo residing in this place that I heard it at all and if anything was going to give me some answers, it would be the prisoners. “Remember, they won’t infest too many of us while the war’s still going on. Not unless they get You Know Who anyway and you know that won’t happen. That leaves plenty of time and people to find out about us and save us. Either side of the war could stop them and neither will want them here. we’ll be free one day, I promise.”

“This is a new side!” I gasped quietly, instantly getting Seamus’ attention. “These guys aren’t working with the Death Eaters, they’re their own side and they’re just setting themselves up in preparation for when us and the Death Eaters cripple each other.”

“How do you-”

“I listened in on Slughorn over there.” I cut him off, straining my ears again to pick up the continuing conversation. My ears perked up as a particular piece of information reached them, albeit brokenly, but it was enough for me to understand.

“You have some REALLY impressive ears there.” Seamus muttered, nibbling his lower lip as he tried and apparently failed to listen in. “I’m getting nothing but a garble. Maybe one clear word a sentence.”

“Try listening to debating Ravenclaws.” I respond with a small grin. “You have to have good ears to understand what even one person right next to you is saying when they start up. Now I think we better get out of here before we’re caught.”

“Yeah, I doubt we’ll get any more information right now anyway.” Seamus nodded. With that, we dropped down low and crept our way back up the tunnel, lighting our wands and breaking into a jog as soon as the chamber entrance disappeared from view.

....

My legs were killing me by the time we made it near the exit. The castle was a great source of exercise, but the night’s activities still were far beyond what I was used to and it was only by supporting myself on the tunnel wall that I was able to continue stumbling along after Seamus. Thanks to everything he’s been doing in the castle lately, his fitness had made definite improvements, though even he was beginning to tire out.

As the opening that marked the end of the tunnel came in sight, my body started shaking nervously again, only making it harder not to fall down. Plenty of time had passed for those centipedes to eat or whatever they were doing and any number of them could be coming back in. We’d been lucky that none had appeared so far, but the closer we got to the exit...

“Keep your wand at the ready.” Seamus ordered, his own wand switching from the usual light spell to a fire spell. Bringing the water spell to the forefront of my mind in case his flames got out of hand, I pulled my wand arm back, ready to fire a spell at the first sign of danger.

However, as we took the first two steps out into the cool, fresh night air, neither of us managed to react in time as a giant centipede rushed from behind us. By the time we heard its excited screeching, it had already jumped over the hole and landed right on us as we turned, slamming us into the ground and pegging us down with its bulk and pincers while our wands flew from our hands to the far reaches of the clearing.

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” I couldn’t help the scream that left my mouth as I struggled in vain to get up, only screaming louder as the pincers ripped my skin open along my left arm and hip in my attempt. Beside me, Seamus wasn’t much better, barely holding in his own screams as he punched the creature’s long, circular body as best he could. However, the creature didn’t seem to feel or care for any of it. It just started drooling as its long, sharp teeth descended towards my head.

“HHHHEEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!” I screamed, not caring who heard me. They could put a slug in me straight after saving me for all I cared at that point, anything sounded better than having my head bitten right off.

And as cliché as it seemed, just as the centipede’s mouth consumed my vision, a howl pierced my ears and the centipede was abruptly ripped right off me, its razor sharp tooth only nicking the side of my chin. A small price to pay for being rescued from a beheading. Gasping loudly as my system was flooded with more relief than I’d ever felt in my life, I sat up and turned my head to find the centipede struggling with a large, grey beast as they rolled across the clearing before springing apart and staring each other down. Checking out my saviour, I felt my heart pump harder as recognised it as a wolf.

'Ok, where do I start on how weird this is?' I thought before I could stop myself as the two leaped at each other again. I’m sure my face glowed with amazement as I watched the wolf easily weave around the centipede’s mouth before sinking its fangs effortlessly through one of its many legs, eliciting a shriek from the centipede as the leg came clean off.

Running a small distance behind the centipede, the wolf dropped the bleeding leg on the ground, and waited for its next move.

Seamus on the other hand, was much more focused than I was. Instead of watching the bloody battle of beasts, he’d jumped right onto his feet and ran from one side of the clearing to the other.

“Come on, we need some distance.” He muttered firmly, thrusting my wand into my hand as he dragged me up to my feet by the other and ran back into the trees. Shaking my head clear, I pulled my hand free of his grasp and followed on my own, though never letting my eyes stray from the fight for long.

I watched from the behind a tree trunk as the wolf crouched back, eyeing the centipede as it approached, not moving an inch. Meanwhile, the centipede seemed to be struggling and I wasn’t talking about an issue with walking, it was still moving perfectly fine. It seemed to be trying to focus on the dangerous predator before it, but its head kept dropping towards its severed leg, staring at it hungrily. As it lowered its head towards it the third time, I finally noticed that the side bleeding out was pointed directly at the centipede, as if it was done on purpose and it reminded me of what Hagrid had said about them attacking each other once they’d started bleeding. It had to be like a shark, the scent of blood was impossible for it to ignore.

I was proven right and disgusted as it gave out another screech, dashed right to its leg and dropped its head right down to the ground to eat it, ignoring the wolf completely. That, as much as it surprised me, seemed to be exactly what the wolf was waiting for, for within an instant it pounced right at the centipede, dug its front claws into its back and sunk its teeth right between it two upper eyes. The creature didn’t even have time to screech around its mouthful...of itself, before it dropped like a rock and didn’t rise again.

“Come on!” Seamus hissed quietly, grabbing my arm again and trying to drag me away. “We have to go, before that wolf decides to attack us.”

But I wouldn’t budge. “That’s not a normal wolf.” I said as I narrowed my eyes, observing everything I could about the non-magical super predator before me. The wolf seemed to be observing the hole before it raised its head and turned our way, making Seamus tense and suck in a sharp breath beside me. “Normal wolves travel in packs and the only time they hunt bigger prey than themselves is when the prey is sick or old. They’re well known for keeping herds strong and lowering their numbers enough to preserve the plant life. And to top it all off, wolves haven’t existed anywhere near England or Scotland for hundreds of years! How did this one get here?”

“Who cares? Let’s figure it out later, just as soon as we’re sure that there is a later.” Seamus replied insistently. At the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but take a little amusement at our little roll change. Now he was the nervous one while I was calm and collected. Funny how things turn out.

“I think it’s an Animagus.” I said as if I didn’t hear him, trying to follow it as it ran into the trees on the other side of the clearing. “It had human intelligence. And it had knowledge of the creature. It knew that it would go for the ripped off leg and pointed the bleeding side at it deliberately to tempt it further. And all that’s ignoring the fact that it went after that vicious thing when we’re here, hurt and defenceless. It intentionally joined in to save us.”

“If that’s the case, then let’s think about it more when we are safe.” Seamus demanded. I gasped as he got fed up and grabbed me by the shoulders, forcing me to look at him.

“But if I’m right, then whoever it is might be able to tell us what’s going on.” I said, staring at him perplexedly. Why wouldn’t he want that kind of help?

“True, but even if you are right, staying here will probably only force it to protect us again.” Seamus responded, waving an arm wildly around the area. “This is the Forbidden Forest, remember? There’s plenty of dangerous creatures in here that we’re still at risk of and who knows how many more of those centipedes are running around? We know there’s plenty more of them nearby.”

Ok, that sent the cold shivers down my spine again. Paling, shaking and feeling my throat dry and tighten, I just nodded in response. There was no way that I was getting a distinguishable word out with visions of those things swarming me running through my mind. Sighing as he realised that he got through to me, Seamus let go of one of my shoulders and loosened his grip on the other in a more comforting manner as he guided me back the way we came. He was right, there would be plenty of time for speculation later. And there sure was a lot to think about.

When I volunteered for my first mission, I thought it would be simple. How naïve of me. Nothing around here is ever simple.


	8. Rachel

My name is Rachel.

It had taken everything we had to get away from the deranged, egocentric lunatics that can be summed up with the word centaur and by the time we did, it wasn’t pretty. In fact, I was extremely tempted to turn around, morph elephant and crush them all into the ground. I had so many painful arrows imbedded into my limbs and back that I looked like a freaking, oversized porcupine! And of course, thanks to them, I just lost another set of my clothes. Do have any idea how long it will take me to track down another one of those jackets? Stores tend to sell out of them within a day!

Ax hadn’t looked much better, though the arrows had only every seemed to target his butt. The rest of him had swelling skin here and there. Of course, morphing had already dealt with that.

It had been sheer dumb luck that had saved us. The first group of centaurs had been fairly wounded and had stumbled into the runways of the new arrivals, resulting in a rather hilarious pileup and giving us the time we needed to get some distance between us and them before slipping into a crevice neither of us had seen. It hurt like hell and had me screaming into Ax’ head as arrows were pushed deeper into my shoulder, but I managed to keep my mouth shut. After that we just hugged the dirt walls and blended into the darkness as the annoying, jabbering horsey people galloped overhead and out of the grizzly’s hearing range before deciding to be done with it and morph birds.

So there we were, a northern harrier and a bald eagle carrying a blue box, flying over a dark and perfectly dangerous forest on the wrong continent towards what looked to us to be a dilapidated mess of a giant building.

//Rachel, how big is the largest spider?// Ax asked as we flew past a particularly high tree.

//About the size of my hand I think. Why?// Why would he ask that of all things at this point in time?

//Because there appears to be a man approximately sixteen feet tall squashing spiders the size of a small car with what appears to be a tree.// He responded calmly. //Though, with the insufficient nature of these eyes at night, I may be mistaken.//

//WHAT?// I cried, almost dropping right out of the air. Was he for real? There was no way he could...

The thought stopped abruptly there, for a loud, echoing cheer bombarded my ears at that moment, drawing my attention to a small clearing not far from us and sure enough, there they were. Thunder rang through my head as I watched a giant crush a spider bigger than me into the ground, laughing merrily as he did. More and more of the spiders charged at him from all directions, but that only seemed to make him happier as he ploughed away at them, squashing, batting and all-round killing them.

I was suddenly very grateful that it was dark and my eyes were lousy. I’d seen spiders large and up close before and it was one disgusting sight I fully intended to avoid whenever I could. But at the same time, I had to admit that I was a little excited. If I could acquire either one of them, the giant or the overgrown spiders, well imagine the damage I could bring to the Yeerks? To have the raw power of the giant or the sure to be amazing combination of maneuverability, power and poison of the spider would make me one seriously dangerous opponent.

//Well, what do you know, I guess that really was an army of giant spiders we smelt before. Interested in making a quick pit stop?// I asked as casually as I could.

//Going after any of those creatures at the present time will only end with our destruction.// He stated calmly, keeping his head pointed straight at the ruins. //It is best that we avoid that area for now. I am certain that you will get to satisfy your desire for overly malicious morphs later.//

Did he really have to put it that way? I mean yeah, I have a love for powerful morphs and causing a lot of damage, but I’m not malicious. And I do have other interests.

But as the sound of crashing thunder of the tree hitting the ground rocked the trees again, I had to concede to his point. If we were going to go after magical morphs without wizards to help, we probably should start with something a little less threatening. Sighing, I gave up on that dream for now and followed Ax.

That is, until I saw a creature that I could get close to. We were close to the boundary of the forest and already dropping to the ground in search of the others when I saw them. Four winged beasts were lying in a small opening in the trees. They had black skin that blended perfectly into the darkness. It was only because the moonlight was shining directly down on them that I saw them at all.

//They all look asleep. Perfect.// I would have grinned if I had lips as I landed on the ground, dropping the cube down gently first, and began to demorph before Ax could argue. The Andalite in question said nothing as he followed my lead. I guess he just decided that there was no point trying to stop me. He wouldn’t have gotten anywhere anyway, I was too excited about the possibilities magical creatures presented.

Moving slowly as I finished my morph, I sucked in a soft breath as I realised that these things were actually winged horses. Though they looked nothing like what the average person would describe. Their wings were as black as their skin and looked like those of a bat, not a bird. Plus, there was little to no meat on them. They were practically skin and bone. They were bigger than your average horse, probably bigger than the average war horse, but what really surprised me as I approached was the fact that it had carnivorous teeth in its reptilian head and pure white eyes.

//They are aware of your presence.// Ax noted cautiously, his statement only being emphasised as the one nearest to me raised its head. //Perhaps a retreat would be the best option at this time. They appear to be more than capable of eating you.//

“No, that’s why I want it.” I responded softly, taking a careful step toward the horse. However, that didn’t mean that I wasn’t as nervous as hell. For all my bravado, inside I was terrified that the entire group would jump up and tear me to shreds. But as I slowly grew closer to them, with one small step after another, that fear faded. Though they were clearly curious about me, it was also obvious that they didn’t see me as a threat or a meal. In fact, they were looking at me like the gentle ponies I used to ride at fairs or the horses in Cassie’s barn do. Like they were curious of me and nothing more.

“You really are amazing creatures.” The words left my mouth before I even realised my lips had moved, but I wasn’t going to complain, it had an interesting effect. The winged horse nearest to me actually seemed to look pleased with me and tilted its head me way. A smile growing on my face, I took the hint and kneeled down beside it, placing my hand on its neck and rubbing it.

The horse let out a noise kind of similar to the pleases sounds Cassie’s horses generally gave when she groomed them, causing me to giggle a little. Despite how creepy and dangerous their appearance was, they were actually pretty sweet. Like the Hork-Bajir.

I just sat there petting it for a good few minutes before I finally focus on acquiring it. I couldn’t help it, something about these horses drew me in. But I was here on a mission and our team was separated in a dangerous forest, I couldn’t sit there all night. Holding my hand still, I closed my eyes and concentrated, feeling the horse’s head grow heavy as its DNA joined my own.

“Thank you.” I said softly, grinning as I gently lowered its head to the ground before standing up.

“Magnificent beasts them Thestrals, aren’ they?” Crap! Someone had caught me. How hadn’t Ax noticed them? Sparing him a look as I turned towards the voice, I was even more amazed to see the shock on his hidden face too before almost shaking as my eyes found those of the speaker...about twice as far up from the ground as my own.

The man had to be eleven or twelve feet tall with the muscles of an Olympic bodybuilder, though they seemed to fit his form, messy black hair and a beard to match. He was easily the most imposing and dangerous person I’d ever come across or was likely to ever cross paths with again. Or he would be if it wasn’t for the obvious, joyful, gentle nature that poured out of his eyes as he looked at me and the jolly smile almost hidden by the beard as he waited for my response.

“Y-yes, they are. I’ve never seen anything like them.” I said, trying to calm my nervousness with a smile.

“I’ll bet. They’re definitely a much more unique breed ah flyin horse. Very loyal. Very smart to, always know where ta go. And...wait a moment, what’s a student like you doing out ere?” He asked with a frown, growing far more serious. “An at NIGHT? Ya don’ think it’s dangerous enough in da castle, you feel da need to come out ere without so much as shoes or ya wand?”

“Oh, um...” OK, so this guy worked for the school. Just how big were wizards? This was bad, this was...hang on, he thought I was a student. I could get him to lead me right to the school. This could work. “I got lost and my shoes got shredded when I was running from some centaurs on a power trip. Dropped my wand too.” I added, trying as hard as I could to appear like a terrified little girl, keeping my voice shaky and meek. “Could you help me get back to the castle?”

“O’ course I can, little lady.” The man responded, his serious expression turned soft and comforting as he gently place a giant arm on my back. “I wouldn’ be a very good magical creatures Professor or grounds keeper if I didn’t know the terrain around ere. But we best hurry, don’ wanna get caught by those centipede things hangin around. Those vicious bottomless stomachs somehow managed to break outta their cage. Think them lousy Death Eaters helped em out.” He added, growling at the last sentence.

“Yeah, we better move fast.” I agreed nervously, putting on a big display of biting my lip as I thought over all that. Taxxons were in the area. That was bad. Where there are Taxxons, Hork-Bajir are never far behind and we had enough troubles already. But this guy had managed to capture some, even if they did get busted out. Sparing him another glance, I couldn’t help but wonder if he did it with his magic or his muscles.

//I will follow in the air.// Ax called as we walked away, leaving the Thestrals to their rest. I practically had to run to keep up with the giant of a man, not a fun thing when you’re in a rock and root filled area with no shoes. Ax had better morph fast, otherwise he would probably lose us in the dark.

“Sorry, but I don’ recognise ya. How old are ya if ya don’ mind me askin?” The man asked, staring down with a raised eyebrow. At that moment, I didn’t have to act anymore. I’d just grown really nervous.

“I’m fifteen. My name’s Rachel.” I answered, hoping that I didn’t just do something horribly wrong by answering honestly.

“A fifth year ay? Well then, you mustn’ av taken Care of Magical Creatures. All well, don’ know wha you’re missin.” He shrugged, trying to appear unconcerned. I say trying because he actually did look a little disappointed.

The trek continued like that for the most part, with him walking casually and asking questions and me practically running after him and lying through my teeth about how my charms could use some work. Although, considering that I’d fail spectacularly if I tried to cast one, maybe that’s not a lie.

“Well, ere we are.” Walking out from behind him, I looked up expecting to see ruins, but what I saw took my breath away. Up ahead, past fields of grass, greenhouses, what looked like some kind of sports arena and the lake was the most amazing and beautiful castle I’d ever seen. What looked like candle light shined through almost every window, giving the place a yellowish glow that revealed the perfect condition of the stone walls. It looked absolutely perfect, like it came right out of a fairytale.

However, it felt completely different. I couldn’t explain it, but while my eyes told me this place was the embodiment of warmth, comfort and happiness, the air to the place was foreboding, creepy. Like something was just not right.

“Don’ feel like it used ta, does it?” The man asked sadly, noticing the troubled look on my face. “I really miss tha’ feeling of home an safety it used ta provide. I can’ wait for the day we can kick those bloody dark wizards out and toss em into the dirty cells where they belong.”

“Yeah. I couldn’t agree more.” I muttered, trying to fight back my urge to track down these dark wizards and introduce them to a charging elephant. I hadn’t ever seen this place before in my life, but even I couldn’t stand them defiling such a place. Just looking at it, you could tell that it was supposed to be a place of safety and warmth. I don’t know what they’d done to the place, besides the obvious touch of what looked like rotting people in ragged, ugly robes flying through the sky, but I could still tell that it was the most despicable act they could have done.

“Well, not use thinkin abou’ that now.” He shrugged after a moment of staring, though he couldn’t shake his sadness or his obvious rage. “Let’s get ya inside. I’ll take ya in so them bloody Carrows don’ punish ya, but ya better make sure tha you’re not out after dark again Rachel. We both know how they enjoy harming the defiant. Even if the defiant is as little as a sneeze at the wrong time.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to run into them.” I nodded, making myself look as small and nervous as I could, a difficult feat considering I actually want to show these Carrows my tusks or claws. Maybe I’d get my chance later. All the same, I followed as he walked ahead, staying as close as I could.

//Rachel? What are you doing with a behemoth?// I almost jerked right into the guy’s hand as Tobias’ voice hit my head. Looking up, I scanned the skies in search of him, pretending to be staring at the robed nightmares. I found him not too far ahead.

“Did you have company in the forest? Other students?” The man asked with, slowing down as the front door of the castle came into clear sight.

//She was caught acquiring an unusual animal called Thestral.// Ax answered Tobias for me. //The overly large man believes that she’d a student at the school.//

“No, why do you ask?” I shook my head, hoping that I only sounded confused.

“Because two people just slipped into the castle. Probably Longbottom.” He said with a sigh. “Tha boy and his allies are gonna get themselves killed if they keep fightin the Death Eaters. Snape and the Carrows will only let them live after so much. Incredibly brave and noble they are, but it would be better to save it for the real fight.”

“True, but I guess they just can’t stay out of it. Some people just can’t stop fighting when people are hurting.” I responded, as if I knew who he was talking about. It didn’t matter though. It was the way almost every Animorph felt from the beginning. It made me think.

This Longbottom and his friends might just be the right people to make contact with. It sounded like they were already doing what we do against these dark wizards and two of them were right in front of me. If I moved fast enough, I could follow them, maybe learn more about them.

And most of all, find out if any of them were already infested.

“Yeah, plenty of noble Gryffindors in tha’ lot. They’re rubbin off on da rest.” The giant nodded with a shrug. He slowed his pace a little at that, probably to buy the kids more time to get in. That would normally strike me a little strange, considering he was a teacher who just caught students out after hours, but I guess he knew nothing he said would stop them from doing it again and didn’t want them punished. It was best for all involved that he could pretend that he knew nothing.

//Rachel, those boys that just entered the ruins were attacked by a Taxxon.// Tobias stated, causing me to frown confusedly. Ruins? Couldn’t he see the castle yet? I could. //Cassie saved them and they definitely don’t strike us as Controllers, but they were coming out of a Taxxon built hole in the ground. If you’re stuck going into the castle then I’ll need you to help me watch them while Cassie and Ax wait for the others.//

I couldn’t respond verbally for obvious reasons, so I let myself fall a little behind the large man and nodded my head as wildly as I could as he opened the overly large door.

“Ah good. they’re not ere.” He muttered, scanning the hallway for a good minute before moving aside for me. “You head on up to ya dorm quick, Rachel. Curfew was over an hour ago.”

“No problem. Thanks again for the help.” I nodded, smiling gratefully at the giant of a man before running down the hall.

“You’re welcome. Just don’t go out there again.” He called happily, almost making me flinch. I liked the guy and it was good advice, but that was a really stupid thing to do considering we’re trying to avoid evil hall monitors.

//The boys are splitting up.// Tobias called as I ran down the hall. //I’m watching them from the windows. Head up the first staircase and take the third right. I need you to follow a blonde boy who’s currently putting on a blue eagle crest and a blue and bronze tie. I’ll follow the other guy.//

I couldn’t answer so I followed his orders, running upstairs as fast as I could. However, all the while, another problem had crossed my mind. Just because the big guy didn’t question whether I belonged here didn’t mean no one else would, especially if they noticed that I was stalking them. I needed a morph that could blend in wherever blondie was going to go. But what? Owl? There were plenty of them outside.

I scrapped that idea by the time I made it halfway down the next hallway. I hadn’t seen a single feather inside so it was safe to say that owls stayed outside. So what was left?

“Reeeooww!”

//Rachel watch it! You’re too close to your guy. And mine.// Tobias cried, not that I was paying too much attention to him. I was looking at the indignant, hideous tabby cat hissing at me like I’d just won the lottery. Cats. Of course. Looks like the black cat following the witch cliché had some merit. And cats were the perfect choice for stalking people. They could go just about anywhere, had great senses of all kinds and were fast and flexible.

The best part? Even though little Miss Hiss was already running off, I already had a cat morph. Fluffer Mckitty.

My ears quickly slid up my head while whiskers sprouted from my nose. My whole body grew itchy as fur sprouted from my skin.

I was long used to the falling sensation of shrinking by that point, so it didn’t bother me in the slightest. I can’t say the same for the squelching of my organs as they melted and twisted, or the odd sensation of my knees pulling a one-eighty. Those were things I will never get used too. My tail sprouted when I was about halfway through shrinking, coming out bare, but growing fur from the tip inward as it was done sprouting. My fingers and toes fused together a moment later, turning into padded paws before growing sharp, retractable claws at the same time my teeth sharpened. The end result of all that was a cat with a small, furry version of my head with cat ears, leaving me very happy that Marco wasn’t around to joke at my expense, before my nose flattened and my vision blurred only to be replaced with the cat’s superior version.

Having dealt with the morph before, the instincts were nothing I couldn’t handle and were easily suppressed as I dashed after my assigned wizard. He wasn’t hard to find, my ears could hear both boys as they walked hastily away and my form was perfect for catching up. It only took one corner to spot him and from then on, my silent steps and low form in the dull light made following him a breeze, though it caused a bit of confusion in the back of my mind. From the outside it looked pretty well lit.

Up staircases, across hallways, past...snoring portraits?...it seemed like we were going to the furthest part of the castle, not that I was worried. This guy was so keen to get there that I wouldn’t even need to worry about my time limit. Though I have to admit that I was getting a little annoyed when he led me up yet ANOTHER spiraling staircase.

Then, just as I was getting irritated and thinking that the walk would never end, we came face to face with a door...that had no doorknob? Or a keyhole. All it had was a knocker in the shape of an eagle. How the heck were you supposed to open...oh yeah, magic. That seemed really lazy to me. I mean, really, they couldn’t even be bothered to open a door, but they could run around a castle? These guys are weird.

I watched curiously, expecting him to pull out a wand and start rhyming or something, but instead he grabbed the knocker and gave it a good bang.

“The more there is, the less you see. Squint all you want when surrounded by me.” I didn’t quite manage to stop the hiss from escaping my mouth at that. The freaking knocker just talked! How crazy was that? Egotistical centaurs, bat winged horses, grunting portraits, riddle spewing doorknobs, what was next, a zombie?

“Darkness.” The boy answered with forced calmness. And apparently what was next was the door unlocking and swinging open at the correct answer. The boy didn’t even wait for it to open completely before running right in, forcing me to do the same. Not exactly something I was comfortable with, I promise you. What if there were no places to demorph inside? Or if I needed to answer a riddle to get out? I suck at those things! I wasn’t even going to get a peek at where we were going until I was pasted the door.

But if I didn’t go in with him, the door would most likely lock me out and I'd have to demorph and solve a riddle just to get in. Who knew how much important information I might miss if I did that or how many people would notice a girl where she didn’t belong IF I ever actually got the door to open? So I did the only thing I could. My signature move: jump in head first and worry about the consequences later.

I just hoped that I wasn’t making a huge mistake. I wasn’t just dealing with Yeerks this time after all. I was dealing with magic in a place I had no guarantee of escaping and on my own. Even I knew that wasn’t the best scenario that could have popped up out of my desire for a new morph.


	9. Ginny

My name is Ginny.

And I was having a lot of trouble breathing.

The moment we’d seen Seamus stumble his way through the portrait hole, Neville practically dragged both of us up to the boys’ dorm. We’d both been worrying nonstop over what was happening and why Seamus had been taking so long in the first place and to see him coming in completely freaked only worried us more. It took Neville a total of two seconds to close the door and put a locking and silencing charm up before getting everything out of the Irishman. Now I kind of wished I’d stayed out of it.

As Seamus’ tale progressed, it only got more and more horrifying. The greater number of those creatures in the forest away was bad enough, but mind controlling creatures crawling out of people’s ears, bladed beasts and of all places to gather, they’d chosen the freaking Chamber of Secrets? I still had nightmares about that place already, I didn’t need it coming back into my life at all, let alone in the use of something that made the horrors of the Basilisk itself sound like nothing in comparison.

“So these things are controlling Slughorn and a group of students?” Neville asked, looking just as sick as I felt. He was as pale as Nearly Headless Nick, not that I was likely to look any different. “How many have they taken?”

“Seven Slytherins, one Hufflepuff and two Ravenclaws were in that group, but who knows how many others have these things in them too.” Seamus replied, batting away at a fly as he did. “According to what Anthony heard, they’re not taking too many people right now because of the war, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t got plenty of students or teachers already.”

“Great. Just what we need, another enemy that we can’t even see.” I snapped, throwing my hands into the air. I had to hold on to my irritation, otherwise I was going to have a full on panic attack. “And again, the person sitting next to us could already be taken and turned into an enemy. How many in the DA are possessed already? How can we find out, ask them nicely or throw a truth potion down everyone’s throats?”

“That would be a good idea if any of us could make a potion that complex.” Seamus sighed, shaking his head. “But what would we do with them when we found these things? How could we get them out?”

“I don’t know.” Neville sighed, flopping onto his bed with his head in his hands. “I don’t know what to do. Do we tell the DA and have them help us? If we do and these things are inside our members, then they’ll know we know about them and come after us directly. If they want this to stay a secret they can’t have us knowing about it and walking free.”

“But the other side to that is that we can’t handle this on our own.” Seamus responded exasperatedly. “Those bladed creatures alone outnumber the entire DA, even if our graduated and on the run members were still here and we don’t know how well they’re affected by magic. Adding in everything else, we don’t stand a chance without more help.”

That only made Neville sigh louder. Watching as he laid back rubbing his temples, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Even after all he’d done, he was still so unsure of himself, always second guessing himself. He was careful to only reveal it to me, but he was forever wondering what Harry would do, if Harry would have dealt with it better. If Hermione would have determined a more effective solution to whatever problem we were facing. If Ron could better position everyone and set off their traps the way he did on a chess board. He still doubted himself, he only took the position of leader because someone had to. He was very hard on himself, taking each and every injury any DA member got as a sign of his incompetence. This new complicated mess was the last thing he needed. No matter what way we went, disaster was likely to lurk just around the corner.

If we kept this knowledge within the leaders’ circle, we should be able to keep these new guys from discovering that we know, but we’d be hopelessly outnumbered and have no way of fighting them without revealing that we know about them anyway. If we tell the DA and actively fight them, it was the imperious curse scenario, only worse. Not only could an infested member blend in with our group, but they could act on their own power and attack us at the worst opportune time. Or just hand us over in an instant.

“We don’t know enough.” I said as calmly as I could, cringing. It came out as anything but calm. “I say that we hope Ernie and Luna aren’t taken and talk about this with them and Anthony tomorrow. We can spy on the Slughorn and those kids in his group or...or go down to the Chamber again.” I stumbled over my own sentence at the end. I couldn’t help it. Every fear I’d felt, every act my body was forced into performing in my first year was bombarding my head. Especially the end. Waking up in that horrible place with a giant, bloody snake on one side and a bloody, dying Harry on the other. Dying because he’d risked his own life just to save me.

“I agree.” Neville nodded, letting a small, appreciative smile cross his lips as he turned my way. Pulling out two gold coins, he tapped them once each with his wand a moment before a slight warmth started pressing into my chest from my breast pocket. The place I kept my DA coins. “We’ll have two meetings tomorrow night, one with the whole group and one with the leaders circle. With the whole group, we’ll start planning more actions against the Death Eaters and Dementors, warn the group that it appears that Snape and the Carrows are using the Imperious curse on people around the school and tell them about the large number of centipedes. At the leaders meeting we’ll discuss what’s really going on.” He stated before a shaking his head with a small grin. “Ernie will probably be annoyed, he’ll be the only one not knowing what’s going on. Luna will have gotten it out of Goldstein by now.”

“Probably knows more than we do.” Seamus nodded in agreement, growing a little proud and amused. “I’m confident that Anthony failed to mention a few things he noticed. The boy’s got the eyes and ears of an eagle. He’s also putting up a big deal about the wolf that saved us. Though I have to admit that it really was a weird occurrence. It had to have human intelligence. Anthony thinks it was an Animagus.”

“Good. That should mean that we have one ally out there.” Neville commented. “Either way, wolfie will probably track you down eventually. Now, I think we better call it a night. One of those bloody Carrows will be by soon for sure.”

“Yeah. I’m going to bed now anyway.” I nodded, pulling out my wand and lowering Neville’s spells. “Goodnight.”

“Night.” The boys responded as I headed out the door and straight to my own dorm. I was going to have a hard enough time sleeping as it was. I never got much anymore, not that any of the known DA members ever did. Now, not only did I have to worry about a stupid Death Eater taking me out, I also had to worry about waking up with a slimy creature slithering around in my head. I never really slept longer than half an hour before jumping up and checking my room.

Shuddering at the very image I’d just painted in my head, I changed into my pyjamas and laid down, taking the time to critically scan every single detail of the room before letting my head hit the pillow. It would be a good long time before I actually got to sleep tonight, as usual, but for once I was glad. The nightmares that were sure to come with the simple mention of that accursed place were not something to look forward to.

Still, I wished that annoying fly would stop buzzing around near my ear.

....

Most of the older students used the free periods they’d gained to study. DA members generally used them to spy and find out when the Carrows were planning to discipline next to so we could be yet another pain in their overly bloated backsides. Or plant nifflers, pixies and stink bombs in their offices and classrooms. I on the other hand, was using them to observe Slughorn.

Anthony and Luna were doing the same thing with the young Ravenclaws. As observant as Seamus had claimed him to be, Anthony had identified his house’s mind slaves with ease. They had an advantage too when it came to spying on them. Luna was simply branded weird, so most people who weren’t Death Eaters basically ignored her existence whenever she randomly turned up somewhere. It was too normal for her to be seen as suspicious. Meanwhile, Anthony was a Prefect. It was his job to monitor the halls, though Snape had suppressed a lot of the power the non-Slytherin Prefects had. Add that to the fact that he was used to not gaining attention unless he wanted it and the Carrows weren’t suspicious of him in the slightest, there was nothing to question his motives with if he was noticed.

We were going to get the Hufflepuff under surveillance after tonight, when we had Ernie’s help to identify and keep tabs on him. Hopefully our faith in all the leaders being in control of themselves was right. I knew I was free, but the only people any two people could guarantee were fine were Neville for being so determined to learn and expose the centipedes involved and the two who’d seen everything and reported it. Unless this was all some elaborate trap and both boys had been Imperioused, but I highly doubted that.

I had to admit that this freaked me out. Slughorn, or whatever was controlling him, was acting perfectly like himself, right down to the constant nervous sputter and shifty eyes that had been a constant since the beginning of term. I couldn’t see the slightest hint of the hot headed general Seamus claimed to see the night before.

“Professor Slughorn?” A Slytherin fourth year called, causing me to throw myself behind a newly added, horrid statue of Salazar Slytherin holding up his wand triumphantly in the corridor heading towards the staffroom. Slughorn on the other hand, visibly flinched before turning his scared face to the boy only to sigh and...slightly relax at the sight of him.

“Mr Baddock. W-what could I do for you?” He stuttered, twitching slightly under the boy’s gaze. Nothing real surprising there, he sputters and twitches when the most harmless first year looks at him these days, as if he expects them to say or do something horrible.

“I was hoping that you could look at my dreamless sleep draught and tell me what I did wrong.” Baddock responded, rolling his eyes as he pulled up a vial.

“Hmm. Not to sound mean, but I think a better question would be what did you do right?” Slughorn frowned, taking the bottle and bringing it up to his eye. He had a point, that potion was a mess. I know from the countless times I watched Madam Pomfrey force them down Harry’s throat that they’re supposed to be a very dark violet. This one was lime green. If someone drank it, they’d probably be poisoned. “Why don’t we step inside eh? Talk a little more privately.” He asked, opening the door to reveal an empty staffroom.

“Ok sir.” Baddock nodded. Smiling nervously at the kid as he walked in, Slughorn let loose a shaky breath and looked around the hallway, as if he was expecting something horrible to pop out. I retracted my head and ducked down low behind the statue as turned my way, praying that he wasn’t about to turn into Moody and see through solid objects. I seemed safe however, for a moment later, the door squeaked its way shut without a single hint of knowledge of my presence.

“Ok, even I know that no fourth year who’s that serious about potions would screw up that royally.” I muttered, glaring at the door. Checking around to ensure no one would see me, I crept out of my hiding place and headed for the door, pulling out my favourite creation my twin brothers ever came up with. Extendable ears.

I checked around again one more time as I reached the door. If the Carrows, Snape, or even one of the good teachers caught me doing this, I’d never hear the end of it, even if I could explain why I was listening in to Slughorn talking to a Slytherin kid. And I couldn’t let anyone mixed in with this new side know I knew out them yet either. That would be even worse than being caught by a filthy Death Eater.

Sighing as no one entered my vision, I placed one side of the spy device to my ear and placed the other against the door.

“Construction of the Slytherin common room entrance is almost complete. It should break into the Chamber before nightfall.” Baddock stated. I had to catch myself from gasping at the sound of it. I didn’t know Baddock well at all, seeing as he was a Slytherin and two years below me, but I did know that he had a thing for being sarcastic and usually had a slightly irritated tone when he talked. This time however, his voice was formal and almost devoid of emotion. I say almost because I could hear a slight nervousness to it that seemed utterly wrong considering the wimp he was talking to.

“Good. At least the bulk of our forces will have a quick and safe entrance.” Slughorn responded, freezing me with just how cold he sounded. I just couldn’t picture that tone coming from Mr Jolly-Coward. “Are we sure no bumbling idiot’s going to find it this time?”

“No wizard should notice it Sub Visser. But...” Baddock lost all pretenses of being calm at that. His voice was full of nerves, as if he was terrified of how Slughorn was about to attack him for what he said next. “There’s no way of guaranteeing that the House Elves won’t notice it while they’re cleaning and these living portraits are making it hard to keep any secrets around here. They’ll get suspicious of the entrance’s location eventually.”

“Oh, of COURSE!” Slughorn shouted, making me jerk so hard I almost disconnected my ear from the magical one. “Of course, what else would you expect? I told Visser Three during our last meeting that this castle and the Ministry would be next to impossible to perform a subtle invasion. This place should have been left until we had enough magical hosts to take it within two days at the most, but no, he wants to use these magical kiddies the way he does their Muggle counterparts. And still he complains that this plan is behind schedule. If we speed this up even slightly we’ll be discovered. This place has enough spies in the least likely places without the kids and Death Eater fools playing their parts in their pathetic war! Ghosts flying through walls, talking portraits, neat freak elves popping around, centaurs foreseeing our arrival and attacking Taxxons and hosts in the forest. Those primitive Andalite wannabes shot another eight Taxxons dead last night. Another one tried to take a bite out of a Acromantula and got eaten himself and that’s without the breach in security we had when they foolishly busted themselves to that blubbering twit, Hagrid. If something doesn’t start going our way soon, Visser Three will sick his Yeerksbane morph on my head!”

“When the new entrance is completed, the infestation will be able to pick up.” Baddock said hurriedly, sounding desperate to please Slughorn. “A lot of the First and Second year students have already been convinced by Astin 9902 that the Death Eaters were planning to surprise the noble house of Slytherin by creating a passageway so they could see the Chamber of Secrets and have been placed under a lip-locker charm to ensure that they ‘don’t ruin the surprise for the others’. She will lead them down and infest them as soon as it’s finished. And it’ll be a lot easier to trick most of the other Slytherins into going down too, after.”

“Yes, but considering the best specimens in Slytherin are likely and expected to join the war alongside their parents, they are not the best choices to infest at this time, nor can we let them inform this so called dark lord of our presence. Without our Dracon beams, Biofilters and Bug Fighters, we’d never be able to hold this position with our meagre numbers.”

“True, but...with no disrespect Sub Visser, sir,” Baddock added hastily, sounding quite fearful for his life. “perhaps infesting them would be a good idea. Potential Death Eaters would give us tabs on the dark lord’s actions without direct involvement with him and when the big battle that they’d be expected to join in broke out...perhaps they would be able to step out unnoticed if we didn’t want to influence it?”

“I would agree with you. Unfortunately, Visser Three does not.” Slughorn sighed, suddenly sounding weary, more like himself. “Visser Three intends for us to infest people and influence the war right into a huge blow out with the minimum number of Yeerks involved. The one time he actually cares about keeping all of his forces alive.” He added with a scoff. “He is also quite keen for those Death Eater kids to do their part here.”

“I see. Then almost all the kids that have sufficient training to be useful to us are off limits.” Baddock muttered softly, sounding almost too terrified to say it at all. “For the most part, if they’re not potential Death Eaters, they’re working for this Potter’s side.”

“Yes, the best warriors in the school are all members of that DA group. Another power we will need to influence here.” Slughorn muttered irritably, only making me focus even harder on the conversation. “I will have to have a couple of their members infiltrated soon too, though it’s difficult enough getting Controllers from the three school houses involved to the Yeerk Pool as it is. Another problem to fix and fix and fix again. This is too much.”

“Sir, if I may offer a suggestion.” Baddock started hesitantly, sounding as scared and unsure as he had the last time. He must have gotten a sign of consent though, because he continued on. “Perhaps we could...”

Unfortunately, I never heard what his idea was, for at that moment another sound was resounding throughout the entire hallway. One anyone could identify as heavy feet hitting the ground, most likely in a very brisk walk. Panicking, I ripped the extendable ears from mine and shoved them into my pocket just before Professor Sprout turned into the hallway, catching me like a deer in the headlights.

“Miss Weasley? What are you doing here?” She asked. She kept her voice pretty soft and casual for anyone within hearing range, but the crossed arms and raised eyebrows kind of blew that off. Professor Sprout was fully aware of my status as the most active DA member, on par with Neville, and that spying and sabotage were well within the list of things I was willing to do. She knew why I was here, no doubt, though she would be surprised if she discovered who I was actually intending to spy on. At least I hope she’d still be surprised, she’s a wonderful person. I’d never wish Slughorn’s fate on her.

“I was looking for Professor Flitwick.” I answered easily, well used to lying. I’m Fred and George’s little sister, how could I possibly be bad at it? “I was having a little difficulty with the food transportation charms and I was hoping he could help me out.”

“He’s in class at the moment dear.” Professor Sprout responded, as I knew she would. “You’ll have to ask him later. You should be getting ready for your next class anyway, shouldn’t you?” She asked sweetly, though the look she gave me was a little more firm. Just how I thought she’d react. That was the amusing thing about the teachers this year. The good ones did nothing to punish you. In fact, if you did something against the rules these days, bar attacking another student, they tried to keep you out of trouble. They tried to stop us from doing anything and still try to nip a lot of what we do in the bud, but they know we won’t stop our rebellion and since they can’t rebel themselves without sever consequences to us all, they just try to help us stay safe.

“Of course. I’ll see you this afternoon Professor.” I smiled, walking away. As I got out of Sprout’s sight, I let a small sigh escape my lips. I hated it when my work was interrupted. Ever since I was a child, I refused to stop anything I started until I had perfected it and this was something that I can’t just go back to later. There was no way to find out what ‘Baddock’s’ plan was now. Even if it was performed, I’d probably never know.

I still got a lot though. I reminded myself, going over everything said. These creatures were named Yeerks. Most people currently infested were Slytherins and it wasn’t like I ever tried to interact with them without a particularly painful curse being involved anyway, so no big loss at the moment. The many eyes in all different forms were making their job extremely difficult and they didn’t have a single DA member just yet, though they were planning to infest some. And this was bigger than Hogwarts. Whoever this guy pulling the strings was, he was aiming for all of Wizarding Britain.

“Thank you Slughorn.” I muttered, letting a small smile cross my face as I realised just how much I had. “I’m sure you’ve just given me just about everything we need.”

Now if only I could take this information right to Neville instead of suffering for an hour listening to a retard telling me that Muggles are stupid and pathetic, despite the fact that said retard’s never spent a day with a Muggle in her life. All well, maybe we could find a way to take her down by accusing her of having one of these Yeerk thingies in her hollow head. There sure is plenty of space for one.


	10. Ax

My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. My human friends call me Ax.

To say that this baffling and unusually protected place was irritating is an understatement. I had spent the entire day forever flying back and forth from this school of magic, as impossible as such a thing sounds, and had yet to even determine the source or epicentre of the illusion. Normally the eyes of my northern harrier morph could identify any illusion. I couldn’t see through to what was within, but the hologram or cloak itself would shimmer and ripple like water. However, this castle looked exactly like the ruins I had seen with my natural eyes right up until I was a mere few inches from its walls, much like the grounds had looked like a barren wasteland until I was inside them. it had caused me to almost fly into the magnificent, hidden structure more than once, not having expected a piece of stone artwork or wall to be in space that previously appeared empty. This magical illusion was at least as advanced as a Chee hologram, something that irritated what Marco called my Andalite ego greatly.

Fortunately, I had determined where it was safe to fly and where it was not by the time the sun began to set. Prince Jake’s wishes had given me plenty of time for exploration.

Prince Jake had not been happy when he and Marco managed to reunite with me and track down Cassie. He was grinding his teeth the entire time I explained how Rachel’s desire to acquire an interesting creature had resulted in her being confused for a student. He had remained quite rigid until we had found Cassie nearby, though knowing that Tobias was monitoring not only her, but a pair of potential candidates for our plans did not settle him very much. On the contrary, he only waited until we had found a safe place to hide before asking me to monitor the castle and find out what was going on. When I had returned with the knowledge that Tobias and Rachel had split up and were each monitoring a candidate inside the castle, he released what Marco and Cassie assured me was a very rude sentence that I should never repeat and asked me to keep an eye on them. I was to monitor the time and make sure neither became trapped in morph. Tobias and Rachel then decided to use me to relay information to the others whenever I needed to demorph.

That was exactly what I was going to do now, assuming that I did not pass out due to extensive morphing. The place Prince Jake and Marco had picked was exactly twenty yards within the forest next to the lake. A round crater the size of a bug fighter was situated there, surrounded by thick shrubbery, leaving them invisible to anything beyond it. Cassie had declared that no large creatures had been in the area for a long period of time. It was the safest place we could establish.

//Prince Jake. The candidates will be having a meeting in two of your hours.// I informed him as I landed, already beginning the morphing process. //They will be proceeding to a place Tobias says is called the Room of Requirement. In the initial meeting, involving all of their allies, the leaders will be informing the others to be cautious of people being controlled. As they are unsure of who they can trust at this moment in time, they are going to explain to them that they believe the dark wizards are using something called the Imperious Curse. After this meeting, the leaders are going to have a meeting of their own to inform each other of everything they know about the Yeerks.//

“So what those boys saw last night?” Cassie asked from where she was sitting and carefully examining a pile of vegetation before her. As we had been hesitant to enter the grounds, even the short length to a vegetable garden, on foot, the others had had to resort to wild plants for food and she was the only one who had any idea what was edible and what would poison them.

//According to Tobias, a girl the boys associated with has also claimed to have discovered more throughout the course of the day. Rachel has also informed me that the boy she is watching has been suspicious of another ‘player in the game’ due to the aid you provided them. He has apparently mentioned the term ‘Animagus’, though Rachel is not entirely sure what that means.//

“The blonde.” Cassie nodded without a trace of doubt. “I heard him last night. He was very suspicious of me for multiple reasons. I think it’s safe to say that he is of the intellectual type.”

//Rachel claims that he is from something called Ravenclaw. She also informed me that everyone from this place is a ‘bookworm’, ‘egghead’ or ‘just plain weird’. In addition, to enter their dwelling, you must correctly answer a riddle or the door won’t open.// I continued as my natural form completely revealed itself, forcing myself to stay upright and graze. As much as I wanted to lay down and rest, I needed to absorb nutrients.

“Has Tobias mentioned anything about the other one and his friends?” Prince Jake asked, Marco looking highly intrigued beside him.

//They are Gryffindors, whatever that means. Tobias has informed me that they are a very bold, headstrong group of people. They are openly appalled to these dark wizards moving around the castle.//

“Our potentials are a mix of brains and action enthusiasts. Though, clearly they’re all insane.” Marco declared, mulling it all over.

//Both meetings will also include people from a group called Hufflepuff. Both Rachel and Tobias have informed me that someone named Ernie is the Hufflepuff leader.// I added, finally full enough to rest. //I have also been informed that the boy Rachel followed is called Anthony and that the only person he has told about the Yeerks is a very strange girl called Luna. Tobias’ charge is called Seamus and the people he informed are named Ginny and Neville. Tobias has also stated that Neville appears to be the leader of the entire group.//

“So we talk to the leaders first. At the second meeting. We can decide what to do about the rest of their group later.” Cassie suggested, smiling victoriously as she tossed away a group of plants and broke the rest into three even piles.

//The rest of this group, known as the DA, is currently Yeerk free, according to an eavesdropped conversation with the man who appears to be leading the infestation in the castle.// I offered. //However, while the Yeerk do not wish to infest the group as they are well known for their active position on the losing side of this strange war, they do intend to infest a few in order to manipulate them.//

“We shouldn’t be giving this power out to an unknown number of people in this situation anyway.” Marco stated firmly. “These leaders, even without knowing all that much, are still clever enough to know that they can’t just tell their allies. Some of them could have been infested already, since that conversation and no one will know it. Our secrets could be exposed to the Yeerks if every one of them was offered the power and that’s a risk even without any infestation. The more people with a new power popping up, the harder it will be to keep the secret. And even if you ignore the Yeerks’ side to it, there’s still the dark wizards.”

“What about them?” Cassie asked, raising an eyebrow. “If the good guys are losing, then they need all the extra power they can get, just like we do. It would be a benefit to them.”

“Yes, until the dark side got a hold of the information or control over one of these new Animorphs we intend to make.” Marco argued. “The leaders are warning the others about mind control through a curse instead of the truth, right? And who knows how many truth spells or mind raping tricks these guys can pull up? We know nothing about their magic except huge concentrations of it mess up technology and it pulls off perfect illusions. No, it’s best we only make as few Animorphs as necessary, keep the knowledge of the power and its source as secret as we can. We don’t need another set of super powered bad guys coming after the box.”

“I agree with Marco.” Prince Jake nodded, staring hard at the Escafil device at the edge of the crater furthest from the school. We had already determined that if it moved even a few centimetres closer to the castle it would stop working and if that happened then I would have to take it apart and fix it again. A time consuming process. “Besides, they do have powers already, as he keeps pointing out. Maybe even transformations if...Anthony is suspicious of a wolf. Animagus might be the name for shapeshifting magic. We’re only offering our power if they need it for a leg up, they can already protect themselves from Yeerks, if not other people. I think a maximum of ten, minimum of six would be best.”

Conceding to the point, Cassie merely shrugged as she grabbed a bucket of fresh water I was unsure as to how they’d acquired and washed a few berries before sticking them into her mouth.

“So how are we going to do this?” Marco asked, rolling a berry of his own around his fingers before following Cassie’s lead. “I mean, we have to convince them to trust us and we can’t take the cube into the school. I doubt we can drag them out here before they have all the facts. They’re living in war conditions.”

“You two will stay here and guard the cube.” Prince Jake responded immediately, though the look on his face was one of annoyance. “Ax and I will get Rachel and Tobias to lead us to the meeting and talk to them when the bulk of the group leaves.” It was clear that he did not want to leave Marco and Cassie behind, for more than one reason. Just as he was upset and worried about the others running around the castle right now without at least me there to keep watch over them, he did not want to leave Marco and Cassie alone in the dangerous forest, despite the relative safety of our position. The other reason was that of all of us on this mission, they were the two who were most capable of reading people and determining their natures. Prince Jake would much rather have their input on the worthiness of potential candidates at the first confrontation then anyone else’s, but it was not possible under the circumstances. Rachel and Tobias were already inside, the leader of our team would need to be present and I would be needed to help with both ensuring that they are not infested and the explanation, proof of extraterrestrials and the source of our power was accepted. We would have to settle for gaining their approval when we convince the candidates we approve of to come here with us.

Growling at the ground, Marco flopped down, unhappy, but conceding to Prince Jake’s decision, clearly seeing his unmentioned views, while Cassie merely sighed and finished eating her portion. Neither had any sufficient argument to make. The only way my form could expose a Yeerk was if they weren’t prepared for me. Therefore, my part in the explanations could not wait and we could not leave anyone down in the forest completely alone. All any of us could do was accept it as it was.

Prince Jake let his eyes linger one more time around the group, no doubt hoping someone had a better strategy before giving up with a sigh moments before brown and white feathers started sprouting over his entire body as it shrank into his clothes.

“Ax, come find me half an hour before the meeting’s due to start. Until then, rest up. I’ll fly over the castle and try to get directions from the others.”

//When the ruins look like a castle, search out an area that looks lower than rest, shaped like a large, rectangular prism. That is the Great Hall, where the inhabitants eat their meals. At this point in time, Tobias and Rachel will likely be in that vicinity.//

“Thanks, Ax.” Prince Jake nodded, right before his heads reshaped to that of an owl. Within a few human minutes, he was already silently soaring through the owl filled air.

....

An Earth hour later had Prince Jake and myself flying silently into a window on the seventh floor of the structure. It was a good distance from the place Tobias had informed us of when the three from this Gryffindor place decided to arrive at their hideout early, but it was the only place on the level from which we could safely enter unnoticed. From there, Prince Jake decided to morph dragonfly while I morphed fly and caught a ride on Rachel, who was following the Luna girl.

//Imagine finding you two here.// Rachel commented happily in the form of a hello before growing a little more serious. //Hopefully there will be a safe place for us to demorph in this secret space. According to the watch on Anthony and my internal clock, I’d say I have about twenty five minutes morph time left.//

//Why are you following her anyway? Why aren’t you still with the blond boy?// Prince Jake asked, though his tone was merely curious.

//Trust me, he’s clean. He’s been telling this girl far too much about the Yeerks to be a Controller. But I can’t get a read on her at all.// Was Rachel’s response, openly exasperated. //She doesn’t seem with it at all, always dreamy, and then she says or does something that just happens to be the most logical thing on Earth. And seriously, who wears radishes as earrings? Even the wizards are ripping her off for it!//

//How much does this Anthony know already?// I asked as she snuck out around a corner. This was not knowledge that Rachel had not reported with much detail.

//He knows pretty much everything that doesn’t involve outer space and technology.// Rachel answered, her exasperation disappearing to make way for happy amazement. She was clearly impressed. //He knows that they’re parasites, almost as much as we do about the strategy the Yeerks have for the wizards in the school and their feeding cycle. He’s theorised that they have full access to their host’s minds and memories from observing and comparing the nature of a known Controller around free wizards and away from them. He’s even used educated guesses to figure out just about everything about the Taxxons, though he admits to being close to clueless about the Hork-Bajir, which are apparently guarding the Yeerk Pool located in a very ancient, deep and evil chamber. He claimed that it was probably because almost no one knows where it is, so no one will ever find it without them and it’s so far down that the magic in the air is weak enough for technology to work. Sounds like the perfect place for their hellhole to me. Oh, he also spent an hour before dinner searching a list of Animagus for someone who could turn into a wolf, but came up empty. Apparently, there’s only seven in the entire country and one of them is a teacher here who turns into a cat. Only a cat.//

//So they can turn into animals, but few do it and can only turn into one ani- whoa, ghost!// It took me a moment to determine what Prince Jake was talking about with my shattered, short ranged vision, but I too felt myself stiffen in surprise as I actually saw two transparent humans floating along the corridors, talking lowly to each other. My stiffness turned to shivering a moment later however, as they floated right through me, Rachel doing the same at the exact same time. I felt like someone had filled my entire internal system with ice while simultaneously coating me in the substance. A very unpleasant experience.

//AUGH! That’s the third time that’s happened since last night! They don’t pay the slightest bit of attention to where they’re going.// Rachel growled, her fur bristling around me. Though it only lasted a few seconds before she almost casually ran behind a suit of armour.

//Almost...gotta time it just...success!// Prince Jake cheered as he zipped up the Luna girl’s body right at the moment Rachel ran up to her feet. //I’m hidden in her hood and under her hair.//

//Ax, get ready to switch taxi services. A door just appeared out of nowhere.// Rachel called, not sounding nearly as shocked as I was as I looked up. Watching from a thousand different angles at once only made it more astounding to watch as a solid stone wall rippled and changed. Within moments, it had transformed into an enormous wooden door, complete with a brass handle. //I’m not gonna go in. As much as I’d like to, it might be better if I stay out here. There’s no guarantee that I could demorph in there in the next twenty minutes.//

//It’s probably better if someone stays outside in case we need help getting out anyway.// Prince Jake conceded. //Someone can help break us out if we need it.//

//Assuming the door doesn’t disappear again.// Rachel responded as she rubbed her body against the girl’s legs, her whole body vibrating as she purred. Taking that as my cue, I shot into the air like a human rocket and latched on to the first sign of the black, flowing substance that could only be the wizards’ version of unnecessary artificial fur, or clothing as they call it.

“Sorry, kitty.” It took me a moment to get over just how dreamy this girl’s voice sounded. It should not have been so pronounced to the fly’s vibration based hearing. It was so strange that I barely missed the fact that there was even a knowing air to it. “I believe you have learned enough for one day. Anthony and I will be happy to talk later.”

//What the HECK?// Rachel cried, relinquishing any chance she had to maintain her cover as she froze. I however, could not chide her for it, for I had done the same thing. This girl knew that Rachel was spying on them all day. Somehow, she had known that Rachel was not a real cat. Had she seen Rachel morphing? Or maybe connected the dots between a cat frequently seen and the wolf Anthony spoke of?

“You best run off now. If the others discover you, they will think you are spying for our enemies. They will not be so understanding.” She added airily as she opened the door.

//How does she know so much about me?// Rachel cried again, confused and exasperated. //I made sure no one was around when I morphed and everything.//

//Who knows about you?// Tobias’ nervous call was another unexpected surprise. It was loud and clear as if he was only two feet away, which did not make sense to me. We had been keeping our thought speak open for all Animorphs in the area. If he had only just come into our range, his voice should have been faint and most likely bearing holes in his sentences.

//The girl, Lu...// The sudden absence of Rachel’s voice was just as disconcerting. It disappeared as the vibrative bang of something large struck my body. I assumed it was the door closing.

//Rachel? Rachel, can you hear me?// Prince Jake shouted, clearly distressed. However, he got no response whatsoever.

“Hey Luna. I thought you were planning to come here sooner.” Another voice commented curiously as Luna approached someone with what I think was long strands of red hair.

//How long have you guys been nearby?// Tobias asked, sounding more confused than panicked. //You guys had to be talking before Rachel’s scream, right? I hadn’t heard a thing until then.//

“I decided to take a detour. I enjoy the company of felines and thought it would like a tour of the castle.” Luna replied, her head staying as dreamy as before.

“Ok then.” Another voice, this one stronger, responded a little awkwardly. Clearly this girl’s behaviour was not that of the standard member of this society as I had been suspecting. This only made her more baffling to me. Perhaps she had some mental condition.

//You should have been in range for a while. Just like Rachel should be able to hear us now. What’s going on?// Prince Jake was growing a little more hysterical as time went on. I believe that being ‘cut off’, as humans put it, from the outside world was causing him to worry more and more about the cousin that was left more alone and vulnerable than before. Plus, we could not receive any help if we needed it now. It was a stressful situation. //How is it possible that they’re blocking our thought speak? Do they know we're here? This Luna did, at least she knew about Rachel.// It also appeared to be causing paranoia.

//Prince Jake, I believe it has something to do with this room, not the people in it.// I stated calmly as Luna appeared to sit down. Suddenly I was resting over her knee. //We did not hear from Tobias until the door opened and Rachel was disconnected from us when it closed. Perhaps, like the Ellimist’s trick protecting the Hork-Bajir Valley and the castle walls, this room has unknown...magical protection from the outside world.// I couldn’t quite suppress the distaste I felt as I suggested such an unpredictable, uncontrollable possibility.

“The others should be here any minute.” A new voice announced. However, unlike the others I had heard before, this one came with an air of authority. Much like Prince Jake’s when we enter a battlefield. “Remember, we’re only warning them about possession and that there are large numbers of those centipedes in the forest for now. We’ll talk about everything else between the leaders later, but it’s best that we observe our other allies and inform them of the truth in small, controllable groups later. Don’t let anything slip.”

“Oh, and here I was about to blurt everything out the second that door opens again.” The other, deeper voice responded, giving me the sense of what Marco called light hearted sarcasm. “Come on Neville, we’ve already been over this three times since breakfast. Have some faith in us.”

//GUYS, WILL YOU ANSWER ME ALREADY!// Rachel’s rather loud scream reverberated through my head and shocked my so much that my fly brain broke free of my control and took off into the air. At the same time, the heavy vibrations of the door opening was detected and a mass of black with flickers of yellow entered my horrible vision.

//That answers the question about the magic shielding.// Tobias commented, sounding quite as pained as I felt at the unwelcome scream. //Rachel, the room seems to block our communication. We can only talk to you while the door’s...//

BANG!

//open.// He finished rather pointlessly. The door had closed again.

With that, our mission reached its waiting and observing portion. Tobias guided us to a large place out of sight behind a strange mirror and bookshelves that proved sufficient for us to hide and morph within when we would need to. He was staying there in his hawk form, poking his head out occasionally so as to maintain much more useful visual and audio surveillance. Jake decided to spend all of our time there in dragonfly morph, preferring a less visible form and closer interaction with the people assembling. I merely continued to use the fly morph, but placed myself on the boy called Neville. Tobias assured us that he was the overall leader of the organisation called the DA and I felt it best to stick as close to him as I could.

“Alright, it looks like we have all arrived.” Neville’s voice shook my fly body’s hairs and echoed throughout the entire room, following the telltale bang of the door closing again. “Now we can get down to business. I’m going to start by saying that the giant centipedes appear to be here intentionally. My sources have informed me that there are a lot of them and they appear to be working on something in the forest. Watch out for them, they are very dangerous. Unfortunately, that isn’t all we’ve collected. Our spies have brought to my attention that some people in the castle, such as Slughorn, have been acting very out of character. The signs suggest the imperious curse is being used.”

He stopped there as I was bombarded with so many vocally created vibrations that I could not identify more than one or two words. The rest merely registered as garbled nonsense and made the fly brain insist on buzzing around crazily.

“How do...”

“Why would they...”

“Anyone...”

“...trust...”

“ENOUGH!”

//OW! Man, Irish boy sure has a set of lungs on him.// Tobias complained, sounding quite discomforted. //Or maybe it’s that wand he’s got pointed to his neck.// It appeared to be so, for Tobias assured me that he moved it away as everyone’s gaze fell on him and, sure enough, when he spoke next, it was much more bearable.

“The last thing we need is for the lot of us to fall into a panic.” He stated calmly, taking a moment to speak again. Most likely, he was making sure all were paying attention. “What this means is that we have to be more careful with what we say and do outside this room and keep an eye on each other. It’s a lot harder to take control of two prepared wizards than one vulnerable one. Avoid going out alone as much as possible and keep an eye out for strange behaviour from both DA members and everyone else.”

“Basically what we’re doing already.” A new, strong voice agreed. Like Neville, this one also held an air of authority and much greater confidence. I believed he was the leader from this Hufflepuff. The only other option would be someone who wished to be leader. “We just need to be more thorough.”

“Precisely.” Neville agreed. “Now let’s move on. Ravenclaw, Luna has informed me of the list of unique and advanced shielding spells you’ve found and deemed useful. Be ready to teach the rest of us. We’ll start on them as soon as we’ve finalised our plans to interfere with the next example Snape’s planning to make. According to what Hannah and Susan have discovered, it’s going to be in the Great Hall and the victim will leave with very painful, long lasting injuries and I don’t intend to let that happen.”

It was rather surprising how smoothly the meeting ran as they moved on to their curriculum. Though they were only teenagers and there was a much larger number of them then Animorphs, they worked very efficiently and effectively, much like a well trained military force. Coloured lights were quickly following strong cries in what Tobias and Prince Jake believed was a dead language called Latin. Even with my poor vision, I was left speechless as the heat of fire would occasionally join the displays, followed by the appearance of walls and fly furniture. At one point, Prince Jake and I were hit so hard by a vibration that it stunned us. We both had almost hit the floor before we regained control of our wings. According to Tobias, a girl from Gryffindor had fired a spell that a boy from Ravenclaw blocked by making a gong appear out of thin air. I still found it hard to believe that, even with magic, something like that could come from nothing. The others however, were much more filled with wonder. As I was demorphing, I had wondered if that was merely because they could see what was going on much better than I could or if they had a greater belief in the impossible. Being a scientifically superior Andalite, the difference might be that I am very bias, as much as I do not like to admit it.

“Time to test reflexes.” The voice I believed to be Ernie’s commanded at the very moment I returned to my fly body. It appeared that I was quite lucky, both for my timing and position, for at that moment, a great assortment of items placed around the room were lifted from their places and flew right toward the wizards and witches.

//Whoa! Duck and cover.// Jake cried. I had to put extra effort in restraining the fly mind’s fear as the carnivorous insect that was Jake buzzed by.

//This is so cool!// Tobias cheered gleefully, making a number of impressed and excited noises common to humans. //Wow, did you guys hear that small explosion? There was no fire or anything involved, the girl I’ve watched just waved her wand and a small shelf burst into dust size particles. Oh, and that guy just made a chair disappear! And a redhead girl just chained a dummy to the ground. Oh, wait, that was a student, he looks shocked and she looks really sheepish. Hey look, a book just got turned into a dove. It’s flying around like crazy.//

//Now that is ridiculous.// I stated, having enough. I would not believe that for a second. //You cannot turn a nonliving thing into a living creature. It is simply not possible.//

//Tell that to the witch that just did it.// Tobias’ reply was far too excited for my liking. //I’d think you’d lose that...//

“Protego Maxima!” Judging from the vibrations, multiple voices had shouted the same thing at once and the immediate response was a large dome of white light surrounded a group of students and repelled or destroyed everything that collided with it. What made it even more fascinating was that though the dome remained complete, lines of brighter, white light were forever moving around its surface. It was quite the astounding sight.

“It is very beautiful.” Luna’s dreamy voice commented. “Very powerful too. The union of each casters’ magic must have been performed flawlessly.”

“I’ll say. Very nicely done.” Neville agreed proudly as the light disappeared. “I think this will do for tonight. I’d like for the House leaders, Seamus and Anthony to stick around to come to grasp with all the details of our various projects, but everyone else is welcome to go and get some rest. We’ll all need it for tomorrow.”

“Why Anthony?” A female voice queried, though to my surprise, there was no hostility. She merely sounded curious.

“I was made Seamus’ partner. It was deemed that I should stay up to date in case Seamus is busy or forgets to inform me of anything.” That was the first time I’d heard from this Anthony all night. I not surprised either. He was soft spoken, a bit nervous.

//He’s not used to the front lines or the spotlight.// Tobias informed us as the group murmured words assent. //Last night was his first active mission. He and Seamus are stealth units, not known as active troublemakers at all. Normally, he’s only noticed for his high grades and for being a House Prefect, but no one outside his house tends to take his authority seriously.//

//You’ve learned a lot. Especially since you watching the other guy.// Prince Jake commented as the groups started leaving in twos and threes, mumbling the whole time.

//Seamus spent a lot of time with Ginny and Neville comparing his actions last night to what he’d known of Anthony before. They were all very impressed.//

//Really? I couldn’t tell with Luna.// Rachel commented, finally able to rejoin us. //I’ve just snuck in in cockroach morph by the way. I got bored out there. But yeah, Luna seemed too out of it and the only boy who took any notice of him, Terry Boot, only mentioned that he’d never seen him more nervous or excited in his life. Of course, Anthony refused to tell him much about what he’d seen and done outside the Taxxons, so there was no way I was discovering any major differences through Terry.//

//We’ll find out soon.// Tobias replied. //There are only six people left besides us. They’d have to be all the leaders.//

With his words, all my curiosity and rebellion of the claims of magic dissipated to be replaced with focus and determination. This was what we’d truly been waiting for. When we could truly determine the worth of these people, how they acted behind closed doors. By the time any one of us left this room, we would know once and for all if the leaders of the DA were fit to be reached and allied with the Animorphs. This meeting had no room for bias natures or petty disbelief. What they were and what they could do no longer mattered. All that mattered now was who they were. And we could not afford to be wrong.

I refused to ever be the reason that we were.


	11. Ernie

My name is Ernie.

I wasn’t sure just what I felt more as Seamus and Anthony recounted their adventure to us last night, irritation, disbelief or horror. Irritation because everyone else had obviously already heard most of the story, disbelief because it was nothing short of unprecedented and horror, well, I highly doubt anyone needs that explained.

“So we’re talking about an alliance between giant centipedes that constantly eat every substance in existence, bladed, reptilian creatures and slugs that enter a wizard’s head and control them?” I asked, trying to take it all in. If it wasn’t for the fact that I trusted Seamus with my life AND seen one of the centipedes for myself, I’d never believe it. It sounded ridiculous.

“Actually, I think the slugs are controlling everything else the same way they're controlling Slughorn.” Anthony muttered, biting his lip nervously. “I caught a glimpse of one bladed creature trapped in a cell and it was clear that Slughorn, or more specifically the slug in his head, was in charge of all of them. Whatever these slugs are, they’re the masters.”

“Perhaps they are mutated Wrackspurts.” Luna suggested airily. “They float around your ears and make your brain go fuzzy. These slugs may be a crossbred version of them.”

“Maybe Luna, but somehow I doubt it.” Ginny smiled softly. She was much more tolerant of Luna’s nature than I was, something I both marveled and admired. I usually had hold my tongue so as not to snap unfairly at Luna. She was a nice person and didn’t deserve it, but her nonsense always managed to get on my nerves. I could never tell when she was being serious or not and it drove me crazy.

“Either way, we have to figure out how to deal with them and their...associates.” Neville continued. “Which means reviewing all the facts. We know that they are inside the heads of Slughorn and at least ten students.”

“There will be more than that.” Ginny piped up. “I eavesdropped on Slughorn’s conversation with Baddock. There are more Slytherins infested and while it sounds like most of them are snakes, there are a few more in the other houses. They’re completing another passageway down to the Chamber from the Slytherin common room to better protect the bulk of their forces. I guess the fact that the centaurs are attacking them constantly make their forest entrance a bit too dangerous.”

“Especially for continued use.” Luna nodded, surprising me as her voice turned serious. “Anthony has informed me that they must return to the Yeerk Pool every three days to feed or they die. Using an entrance that deep in the forest that constantly would draw too much attention to it.”

“I didn’t know that.” Seamus commented, raising a curious eyebrow at the blonde boy nervously biting his lip.

“I heard Slughorn say it when he was comforting a student.” Anthony muttered, dropping his head shamefully. “Sorry, I should have told you.”

“Nah, it’s fine. We’ve all found out now anyway.” Seamus shrugged, leaning back casually.

“What else do we know about them?” I asked, wanting to bring the conversation back on topic. After all, I was behind with no information whatsoever five minutes ago. I wanted to know what I was dealing with.

“Anthony theories that they have access to their host’s memories.” Luna continued, earning a shy nod from Anthony.

“That would explain the perfect facades.” I nodded, making sure that Anthony saw the impressed look on my face. Maybe then he could start telling us his theories himself instead of relying on Luna. There was no need for him to be shy or nervous, he was doing fine. “You got any other thoughts on this Anthony?”

“Just that...they chose the Chamber because it’s hidden from everyone and because technology works there.” He replied. He was still unnecessarily nervous, but he was keeping his head up and looking each of us in the eye. It was something and more importantly, it was something I could work with. “It’s the only place in the school where Muggle technology could work. There’s too little magic down there to disrupt it.”

“They’re using Muggle technology?” I cried, the information finally sinking in. “That implies that they’re not magical at all. They’re non-magical creatures and yet they can still take over our bodies? How’s that possible?”

“No idea, but you’re right, it would make sense.” Ginny frowned thoughtfully. “Slughorn’s in charge here, but he has a boss too. According to Slughorn, they’re planning on taking over the Ministry and Hogwarts simultaneously while the real leader is focusing on the Muggles. Apparently, between the war and the various, different unpredictable eyes, taking the wizards is going far too slowly for the leader’s liking. The Muggle takeover must be progressing faster.”

“Most likely. They’re not overflowing with ghosts, living portraits and who knows how many sentient creatures.” Seamus stated. “It’s a much easier target for the inconspicuous.” He added, getting a nod of agreement from Anthony. They were probably right.

“Here’s my next question. How do we know we’re not infiltrated?” I asked, staring hard around me, especially at Neville, Luna and Ginny. “I mean the entire DA and those of us at this table. Seamus and Anthony are clear, they wouldn’t have told us anything if they were taken, but what about the rest of us? How do we know we’re all slug free?”

“The slugs don’t want to infest anyone who’s expected to get involved in the war. Or at least not many of us.” Ginny replied, though she definitely looked troubled. “Slughorn wants to take all the tougher Slytherins, but for some reason his boss, who usually never cares about the lives of his minions from what I overheard, wants them free to do their job without risking their forces’ numbers. They only want enough slugs in the war to manipulate it to suit their needs. He hasn’t gotten any of the DA yet, but Slughorn did say that he was going to infest a few of us to manipulate our group soon. I think they’re just waiting until they deal with the never ending passage situation.”

“So we’re free for now?” I asked skeptically, shaking my head. “Not for long I’m sure. You guys do realise that if they decide to infest DA members then Neville, Luna, Ginny and I are the most likely candidates? We’re the best people to infest if you want to manipulate the DA.”

“You’re also the most likely to get killed, either by joining the coming battle or for being expected to.” Seamus shook his head. “No, I’m betting it’ll be someone close to you guys. People who can convince you guys to make certain changes in their direction, but still slip into the background.”

“By that logic, Seamus is the most likely target. Or Hannah.” Ginny mused. “Seamus is definitely the closest person to me and Neville and Hannah could influence Ernie if she felt the need. Anthony will be another likely target once they get someone in the DA and discover just how involved he is.”

“We’ll just have to see what happens on that front.” Neville sighed, rubbing his temples. “Every other seventh year in the DA is almost as likely. Ernie, Ginny and I trust all of them from Gryffindor or Hufflepuff completely and the Ravenclaws are highly intelligent, the source of a great deal of our knowledge. Any of them could be used. So how about we focus on how we are going to stop this instead?”

“We could just make the bloody Death Eaters aware of them.” Seamus shrugged. “They won’t want mind controlling slugs in their heads any more than we do.”

“And let them cripple each other.” I grinned, liking the idea. It was sly, manipulative and everything a decent Hufflepuff usually tries to avoid, but in this case it could be the answer to a lot of our problems. However, my grinned disappeared when I figured out just what that would mean. “But the Death Eaters would end the problem simply by killing every infested person they find. Hell, they’d kill people simply for the slight possibility of them being infested.” They killed enough people as it was and would never bother trying to free them. I couldn’t let that happen. What kind of person would I be if I allowed them an excuse to horribly murder even more innocent people, especially children? No, I’d hold the Death Eaters back with my bare hands if I had to.

The others quickly agreed with me as what I said hit home. Seamus even looked like he was kicking himself for suggesting it. It was clear that to save as many lives as we could, this had to be dealt with by our side.

//You are wise to withdraw that plan. It would likely end much worse than you are aware of.//

“AAHH!” Ginny and Anthony screamed as they jumped to their feet, Neville, Seamus and myself following right behind them. That voice had appeared from nowhere. In fact, it hadn’t even come from the room. I hadn’t heard a peep with my ears until the scream.

“What was that?” I cried, looking from one of my friends’ faces to the next. Each and every one of them had definitely heard it. If the screaming and jumping wasn’t proof enough, the mixture of scared, wary and confused faces looking around the room more than covered it.

“Anyone else notice that your ears didn’t pick up a thing?” Luna asked calmly from her seat, completely unphased. Serious, what does manage to unnerve her? “I believe it may be the cat. Or perhaps she has friends.”

“A cat? A normal one or is it another Animagus like the wolf?” Seamus asked, only confusing me. Clearly something had been left out of the retelling tonight.

“The wolf didn’t talk, nothing spoke in our heads.” Anthony muttered, whipping his head from one side to the other. He was definitely the most worried of us. Hoping to calm him, I moved a little closer to him, shielding him. it seemed to help, at least his breathing pattern relaxed a little, especially when the Gryffindors each pulled out their wands and searched the place.

//I am not an Animagus. However, I am a shapeshifter. Do not be afraid, I shall not hurt you.// The ‘voice’ spoke again, making everyone, bar Luna, tense again. The only shapeshifters that weren’t Animagus’ that I knew off the top of my head were Kelpies and they were not to be trusted. However, they never travelled that far from water and none had ever reported them to have mental abilities like this, so I doubted we were dealing with water demons. //I have come to aid you.//

“Then prove it. Show yourself.” Neville commanded, his aggression almost completely hiding his nervousness.

//As you wish.// The clopping of hooves meeting stone joined the soundless sentence as a flicker of blue appeared from behind a large shelf. Turning simultaneously to the creature, we stopped still in shock. This beast had to be a shapeshifter, it was the only way it could have possibly gotten into the room unnoticed.

It reminded me greatly of a centaur, but while it was smaller, it looked far more dangerous. Instead of a horse’s lower body, it better resembled a deer. It’s human hands bore one too many fingers each and its face had no mouth. Instead, it had a pair of stalks on the top of its head baring extra eyes that moved around constantly. It was almost covered entirely with blue fur, but what really caught your attention was the tail. Where the rest of its body looked almost frail, the tail was powerfully built and on the end was a tail blade worthy of a manticore.

//Greetings human wizards. My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. You may call me Ax if you wish.//

“He’s ahhh...um, he’s...I don’t know what he is.” Seamus stuttered, blinking rapidly. He looked as dumbstruck as I felt. Neville and Ginny didn’t look any better. All three of us could only nod in agreement with him.

Fortunately, our Ravenclaw members were able to maintain their famous wits about them. Luna finally rose from her chair, her dreamy smile growing much warmer as she approached the creature, offering it her hand.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. Your friend the cat has been quite wonderful company.” I don’t know startled me more; that Luna was so calm about approaching a creature that could behead her in an instant or what she’d said to it. She knew this guy was here? And it had a friend? Why the hell wouldn’t she mention it?

A total nut job for sure. Was the only thing I could possibly think of to answer that.

//The pleasure is all mine Luna Lovegood, unusual witch of the Ravenclaw.// This...Ax replied, throwing me off a little as he clasped her hand and shook. Though the eyes on his stalks continued to focus on the rest of us, his main eyes appeared...to be smiling?

“You know our names and houses?” Neville asked, his wand arm twitching slightly. His shock was receding now and it appeared that he’d registered as much as I had. My own wand arm grew firmer too, aimed right for Ax’ chest. “How do you know who we are?”

//As Luna Lovegood has mentioned, I have a friend in the form of a cat who has been within the castle since Seamus Finnegan of the Gryffindor and Anthony Goldstein of the Ravenclaw returned from their adventure in the forest last night. However, she was one of two.// He explained calmly, not even twitching at the sight of our wands. He was either confident that we wouldn’t use them or simply didn’t see them as a threat to him. Personally, I really hoped for the latter. //The cat was sent to watch Anthony Goldstein while the other would perform the same task with Seamus Finnegan. They moved on to Ginny Weasley of the Gryffindor and Luna Lovegood of the Ravenclaw throughout today after becoming confident that their original assignments and Neville Longbottom of the Gryffindor were acceptable. We have come to this meeting tonight to finalize our findings and ensure that the last leader of this team, Ernie Macmillan of the Hufflepuff, was also safe to approach.//

“Wait, you’ve been spying on our meeting too?” Ginny asked. I couldn’t help but grow a little amused as her voice met my ears. She’d gone from cautious and worried to outraged. There wasn’t the slightest bit of fear left in her tone. She truly was a very impressive young woman and no doubt the truest Gryffindor left in the school.

This Ax seemed to notice too, for all of his eyes focused on her, if only for a moment. //I do apologise if this offends you, Ginny Weasley. I assure you, we mean you no harm, nor do we wish to intrude on you. We merely needed to know that you were safe to approach. For reasons you already understand. It is for the same reason that you have not told your allies about the new enemy. Or rather, your new enemy. My team’s enemy has become yours.//

“The slugs are your enemy?” Anthony asked curiously. He was the only one of us besides Luna that wasn’t still wary. Though it was still quite a shock to me that shy Goldstein of all of us would move right beside Luna, well within Ax’s striking range, without the slightest sight of fear or discomfort. In fact, he looked a little excited. “So the wolf that saved us last night. That was you? Or one of your friends?”

//Yes. Cassie would never let a Taxxon eat the living. She is very grateful that you two were unharmed.// Ax nodded.

“Cassie? That’s a rather normal name.” Anthony commented, tilting his head curiously. “I was expecting all your friends to have names that were a little more unique, like yours.”

//Understandable. However, unlike me, they are much closer to you as a species. Their natural forms are human and as such they have human names. This is why I have been chosen to reveal myself first instead of my...leader.//

“Humans? So they are Animagus’?” Anthony frowned confusedly. “Are they unregistered then? I mean, there’s only seven known Animagus in the entire country and none worldwide that turn into a wolf.”<

//No, Anthony Goldstein. They are not what you call Animagus. Our power is far more...beneficial than your difficult and dangerous magical art. Nor is it magical at all.//

“You actually expect us to believe that?” I cried aggressively. Did this guy take me for a fool? There was no way to shapeshift without magic. It was impossible. “There is nothing that could replicate the magic needed for the alteration of the body’s biological makeup on that level. It’s not possible. Tell us the truth!”

//I understand why you are skeptical, Ernie Macmillan. Not four days ago, I held that same feeling for the existence of magic. And in a way, you are partially correct. Nothing naturally exists with such power outside of magic and this is especially true about the primitive nature of this planet. However, this power is the result of the technology of my home world.//

“Home world?” I asked, frowning harder. This was sounding more and more ridiculous to me. “You’re trying to tell us you’re an alien?”

//Yes. I am an Andalite. I am alien to this planet.// He nodded calmly. However, the cold rage that filled his ‘voice’ as he spoke next sent shivers down my spine. //And so are the Yeerks, the slugs that have enslaved the minds of countless races and reduced dozens of planets to near-lifeless, polluted wastelands in less than one of your centuries. And this is exactly what they will do to Earth if they are not stopped.//

I don’t know what it was. Maybe the raw hatred for the creatures we were facing. Maybe the sadness that flickered in and out of his voice when he talked, or the look in his eyes, reflecting hate, sadness and loss. I don’t know what it was, but suddenly I believed him. It all still sounded completely nuts to me, but something in me was demanding that it had to be true. That I could trust this...Andalite, that he only wished to save us.

'And if a creature of science as he claims to be can make the leap to believe in magic, I should at least try to perform the reverse act myself.' I decided as I turned to the others.

Neville seemed to be thinking the same way I was. His wand had already been lowered and a look of pure horror was covering his features. I could see why. It was written all over his face that he was envisioning everything Ax had said. Anthony, though looking paler and more terrified than any of us, had his eyes darting back and forth. I could almost hear the gears turning in his head as he connected dots between what we’d known and what we’d heard. Ginny and Seamus had both lowered their wands too, Seamus’ dropping to the ground and Ginny’s finding the table as the redhead moved a hand to her mouth. She looked like she was going to throw up. Even Luna had lost her airiness, though the look of fear seemed much weaker on her face. Maybe I wasn’t getting the whole picture because she was naturally very pale, but I think I did. Especially if the flash of determination crossing her face wasn’t just in my imagination. We didn’t have to say a thing. Suddenly, as impossible as it seemed, we all believed him.

Neville must have been as confident in that statement as I was, for he didn’t even look at a single one of us as he stepped forward. Taking a deep breath, he stood up as straight as he could and tightened his expression into the most serious look I’d ever seen on his face.

“Thank you for warning us Ax. If it is ok now, I’d like to speak to your leader. Where is he?”

//I’m right here.// I jumped once again as a voice entered my mind. However, this one wasn’t the Andalite’s. This voice, while still male, was much less formal and had a much stronger American accent.

“Who was...”Ginny started, looking wildly around again. she was probably expecting someone else to crawl out of a cupboard.

//My name is Jake. I am the dragonfly on the floor. Give us a couple of minutes and we will talk face to face.//

“AAHHH!” Both Ginny and Anthony screamed as we looked down. There, at Ax’ hooves, were a hawk, a dragonfly and a cockroach and all. Or at least, that’s what they were. I watched with a rapidly growing green tint to my face as I saw the first difference between and Animagus and this new shapeshifting trick. This one was a lot slower and far more disgusting.

'I think I’m gonna be sick.' I thought, grabbing my stomach and flopping back down into my seat. Despite how gross and nightmare inducing it was to watch blond and brown hair growing on an extremely vaguely humanoid form covered in an exoskeleton, mandibles and oversized insect legs being sucked into their chests with a gut wrenching slurping sound, I couldn’t force myself to look away.

That is until a gurgled cry met my ears and drew my attention just in time to see Seamus conjure up a bucket two second before puking. Yeah, this night is going to scar me for the rest of my life.

//We probably should have mentioned that you should probably look away.// At least this Jake had the decency to be sheepish.


	12. Luna

My name is Luna.

It was quite the intriguing tale the kids had to share with us. But perhaps I shouldn’t call them that. They are younger than anyone in the DA, but I was not any older when I went to the Ministry with Harry. And their eyes did not look young. They looked like Harry’s. Like the wonder that was rightfully theirs was taken away in the face of battle.

They told us of all the things the Yeerks had done. How they had conquered many planets and turned them into wastelands. How they enslaved anything sentient. How they preferred voluntary hosts that don’t fight back, but are happy to break you to pieces if you resist. They enjoy hearing you scream in anguish in your own head. They told us about the gentle Hork-Bajir, the bladed creatures being forced to live as weapons. The very creatures that Anthony had seen in the Chamber. They told us about the Taxxons too. That they were willing allies that almost never had a Yeerk inside their heads. Their hunger was eternal, insatiable and agonising. It sent any Yeerk who had to deal with it for more than a few hours completely insane.

They told us of how they fight them, using the power of Andalite science. That being the power to turn into any animal that they touch. It fascinated me really. I wondered if the Andalites had actually discovered a type of magic without realising it. It was possible. My father once told me that a parrot once discovered the magic of changing the colours of its feathers, even though parrots are not magical creatures at all. He also believes that all science created by the Muggles has a touch of their own unique magic, so why could it not be the same for the fair people of other planets?

Anthony was thrilled with the nature of their power too. It was only his shyness and the grave looks on the others’ faces that stop him from asking what was likely to be a hundred questions. I could see it in his eyes. The fact that he was barely stopping himself from shaking with excitement helped too.

The others however, were quite moody and more interested in the less fascinating parts of the tale. Like when Jake informed us that the Yeerks had been on Earth and moving into major Muggle positions for years. Or when he said that the Andalites still had not been able to return after they were defeated in space. You know, the boring stuff.

“So the Muggle world’s gone from being defenseless during the slow, initial set up of an infestation invasion to a fast paced infestation with only six people fighting back?” Ernie exclaimed incredulously. I don’t think he wanted to believe it. He just realised that he had to. “How is it that there’s still anyone to fight for?”

“They want as many hosts as they can get.” Jake answered, pushing his hair out of his eyes as he looked up at the taller Hufflepuff. “It slows down their process more than you think, though they do still take hundreds a month. To be honest, we don’t even know how bad the rest of the world is, we only know that our home is where the Yeerks’ forces are strongest and their condition here.”

//Though, as Prince Jake says, we do not have much information about any other towns and cities in America right now, let alone other continents.// Mr Andalite piped up in my head. A rather intriguing talent. //We know that our town of battle was definitely the hardest hit point when my people originally came to fight the Yeerks, however that may not be the case now. Especially since we have slowed down progress. There may already be entire towns or cities that have been infested.//

“This sounds hopeless.” Seamus groaned, dropping his face into his hands. “If that’s the case, then even if we get them out of Hogwarts, we’ll still be at war with them again soon anyway. Only they’ll be using the Muggles and alien bodies to fight us and hurting them would mean that stopping the Dark Lord would be for nothing.”

“Not true. If it comes to open war, then we can deal with them.” Ginny shook her head defiantly and slapping the back of Seamus’. “Magical wards, disillusion and revelation charms would make subtle acts null and void and large amounts of constant magic shorts out technology. Shield spells could protect us from these space weapons of theirs. It would be hard and painstaking, but a united magical front could do it. It’s if we’re infiltrated, our kind infested, that we’re doomed.”

“I agree.” Neville nodded. “We probably couldn’t save the world, but we could save our kind and a lot of Muggles thrown our way by holding up in places like Hogwarts or locations bearing a Fidelius Charm. If the Muggle world falls.” He added quickly, noticing the girl, Rachel, giving the Gryffindors dirty looks. It was obvious from the moment I met her as a cat that she had no intention of losing the War.

“It won’t.” She stated sharply, ignoring the ‘be nice look’ Jake was giving her. “We’re not the only fighters for the non-magical world and we’re picking up steam. And when the Andalites do finally decide to grace us with their almighty presence, we’ll send those slimy slugs to hell where they belong. Provided no magical slaves give them any unwanted advantages.” I believe that she is quite passionate. And is a little irritated at the wondrous, blue, space centaurs.

“Did space fairies come down and help too?” I asked, tilted my head curiously. I think Rachel took insult to my question though, as she turned and glared at me. The Andalite was staring at me like he thought I was ridiculous too while Jake merely looked confused. It didn’t bother me though, I was used to those expressions.

“What, you think I’m making a load of-”

“Easy!” Neville burst in, throwing up a hand and staring Rachel down just as hard as she was him. “She was only asking a question. Don’t let her tone fool you, she’s genuinely curious.”

“Oh, right. She always talks like that.” Rachel sighed, realisation covering her face before she turned to me apologetically. “Sorry, I thought you were being sarcastic.”

“But no, there hasn’t been anything but Yeerk ships coming to Earth.” Tobias stated. I think he wanted to get back on track, but I wasn’t sure. His face was strange, always neutral. “We’ve gained connections with a spy network in the Yeerks’ forces and helped start a colony of free Hork-Bajir back home that works to take back more of their kind.”

//Few species in the Galaxy can fight the Yeerks at all and only the Andalites can do so head-on on every world.// Ax stated quite proudly. He was nicer, but he definitely had a personality similar to an Earth Centaur. Rachel did not seem to agree with him however. She rolled her eyes at his comment.

“So did you come here to help us?” Anthony asked, hesitantly yet excitedly. “To get them out of Hogwarts?”

“Yes and no.” Jake answered, frowning thoughtfully. “We can’t stay long enough to remove the Yeerks completely. They’re set up too well already and Hogwarts isn’t the only place they’ve started infesting. We came here to warn you and possibly give you a gift that might help you.”

“Well, we know and are warned. What’s the gift?” Ernie asked, his hard face growing curious. However, the look disappeared as Jake shook his head.

“You’re not fully warned yet. We’ve only told you that the Yeerks are here and what they’ve done. Your world’s more vulnerable than you know.”

“The Yeerks discovered the magical world by a wizard they lucked out on infesting. Apparently he was a rather pathetic one.” Tobias continued, his eyes growing darker, fiercer. I thought they were quite similar to his hawk eyes. “Through him, they learnt about your world in England and your war. And they planned methods of infestation for three areas. The slow, carefully selected infestation within your school and Government and another plan for your jail.”

“Azkaban?” Anthony cried, all the colour draining from his face. It was an understandable reaction. The situation was quite unpleasant.

“Why there?” Neville asked confusedly, earning raised eyebrows from our guests. “I mean, why go after them? If the Yeerks don’t want to be noticed or be left in a place where they can be driven insane, why infest people that would have to stay on an island full of Dementors?”

“Dark creatures that feed on happy memories and force you relieve your most horrible ones over and over again.” Seamus added. Our guests are not from the magical world after all. “They make it really cold too.” He added as an afterthought.

“Are they around the school? And the town?” Tobias asked, his face finally showing a reaction: realisation.

“Yeah, why?” Ginny asked, tilting her head. “Have you felt something from them?”

//I believe that Tobias, Marco and I have crossed paths with them.// Ax stated. It was rather strange that time. His mental voice sounded a little shaken up. //It was not pleasant.//

“But back to the jail,” Jake cleared his throat. “They’re not infesting any of them right now. They’re using the Dementors’ trick to break and destroy their wills while encouraging the dark wizards into sending more people there while they keep a ship bearing a Yeerk Pool hidden above it and watch over the place. When your war with this Voldemort guy ends or he’s infested himself, they’ll infest everyone there on the spot while their agents in the school and Government will move out to quickly infest your war’s gathered survivors. After that, they’ll take over the rest of the wizards in England and move on to the other countries.”

Hmm. Well, I suppose that’s pretty bad. The English Ministry’s rather disorganised at the moment, which is the only way these Yeerks could have gotten into the Wizarding world undetected, but if it was reunited under Yeerk control, they would have the perfect access point for the rest of us. And a globally united wizard front would easily defeat the entire Muggle world. They’d never be able to stand up to our magic, even if they outnumbered us twenty to one. We better fix this.

“So how would this gift of yours help us?” Neville asked, his tone growing far more dark and serious. Looking around, I noticed that even Anthony had sobered and developed a quite sharp look. But then that was to be expected. The future plotted out for the tortured, innocent people was rather appalling.

“We fight the Yeerks using Guerrilla tactics and by making them think that we’re Andalite Bandits.” Jake informed us, gesturing to Mr Andalite for emphasis. “If they found out we were human, they’d find out exactly who we are and infest us. It also gives us and edge because, just like they’re everywhere, hidden behind who knows which faces, we can be anything, even one of them. If you need it, it’s that power we can give you.”

“You can give us your power?” Anthony asked, intrigue starting to break through his hard face again, if only for a moment. “How?”

“A boy back home found its source. We’d thought that it had been destroyed beforehand.” Tobias responded. “We can give it to you if it’s necessary, but we thought you may have magical ways of copying all its benefits. The power allows us to become anyone or animal we touch. Their DNA is absorbed through concentration during bare skin contact and forever stored within our own. We morph just by concentrating on the image of the animal. We gain the animal’s instincts and physical forms as well as the ability to use an Andalite’s thought speak.”

“In addition, since it works by DNA, morphing heals all injuries, is an instant cure for poisons and generally heals the body of bacterial, viral and infection related illnesses.” Jake added. “You could rip your arm off and it’ll grow back when you morph. Do you guys have the power to do all that?”

“No. At least, not on our own or instantaneously.” Ginny shook her head as the others stared at Jake and Tobias in amazement. It really was quite fascinating that technology could do so much. It was almost impossible for even me to not believe magic was involved. Maybe my father would have some insight on a creature or ancient magic that might have helped the Andalites along. He usually has an answer for everything. “We can use Animagi, but that takes years to master, you only get one form and that form isn’t always one you’re going for. It usually depends on what animal you most associate with. Transfiguration could turn us into animals, but we’d have to know the spell and we’d need another wizard to cast it to get a full transformation. Luna and I are just starting to learn self-transfiguration, but that only lets you change half your form.”

“A full transformation would make it impossible to change back unless you could convince someone else that you were human. Which is rather difficult unless they saw you transform.” I added, deciding to clear up the slightly confused looks on the Muggles’ faces. “Changing to and from both require a wand and a specific hand movement.”

“Polyjuice potion can turn us into other humans, but it has limitations.” Ernie picked up from there, frowning thoughtfully. “It takes a month to brew and you need a threw strands of hair from whoever you want to turn into. Plus, without taking more, the effects only last about an hour or so. It can be really dangerous too, if you accidentally use non-human hair.”

“Like Hermione did five years ago.” Neville, Ginny and Ernie all turned quite annoyed as Seamus struggled and failed to contain his chuckle. “That was a pretty interesting Cat-human hybrid scenario.”

“Even the medical advantages surpass some of ours.” Anthony muttered, leaning his chin on his hand as he thought it over. If any of us would know about that area, it would be him, he was one of the best healers in the DA. Healing us and the people we saved was the only act of rebellion he’d made before last night. “Fixing cuts and broken bones can be done with a wave of a wand, but there are plenty of other, more serious scenarios that would take hours to heal at the least, even if we could go to a professional healer, and we don’t have many healers period. Besides that, if the morphing works genetically, it may be able to remove or speed up the course of magical injuries, heal in days what can sometimes take weeks.”

“Like the ear George lost to a dark curse.” Ginny nodded, her voice soft and sad.

//We cannot say too much for sure where lingering magic is involved.// Mr Andalite cautioned, growing a stiff. He didn’t like being out of his element and bearing a lack of knowledge. //Magic and Morphing technology has never been mixed before. Only experimentation will determine how much magic may interfere with the power.//

“Or enhance it.” I commented, drawing everyone’s startled eyes on me. “And it in turn enhance us. For example, magic moves through our genetics and never leaves us. Who’s to say it won’t go into forms we’d take from non-magical creatures?”

“And then there’s another possibility.” Anthony said quietly, though his voice and excitement rose as he continued to talk. “The morphing power. If you guys give it to us then we could morph magical creatures. We’d be the first wizards to ever do that, it’s impossible to turn into them with magic! And if Luna’s right, then who’s to say that the magic in their DNA wouldn’t have some kind of effect on our human forms, mixing in with our own? If their DNA is forever inside us then their magic would be too and magic of one source can feed and mix with that of other sources when their focused on the same place. Depending on the creatures we’d acquire, the possibilities would be endless.”

“But then that would mean that I’m somehow...” Rachel frowned, confused and skeptical, before her eyes widened in a look of shock and realisation. Taking a few breaths, she stared at Anthony hard enough to unnerve him before turning quickly to Tobias. “Last night, you were as close as me when you saw me going towards the castle, right? When you talked to me?”

“Yeah, why?” He asked. I think he was baffled.

“Because you called the castle ruins.” Was Rachel’s response. “But I didn’t see any ruins at all. I saw the castle and everything around it perfectly from my first glimpse through the trees. I saw ruins when we were at the village, so I just thought that I’d made it past the illusion.”

//I have been watching the castle from the outside almost all day. I only saw past the illusion when I was a mere two inches away from it.// Ax stated in response, Jake nodding in agreement with him.

“But you...acquired a magical creature! That’s how you got caught and led to the castle by that Hagrid guy.” Jake exclaimed, connecting the dots. “And we were told that magical beings could see past the magic protecting this place.”

“So your power really can turn us into magical creatures?” Ernie asked, suddenly very intrigued and hopeful, as Anthony beamed. “What creature did you touch?”

“Hagrid called it a Thestral.”

“That’s a very good choice.” I smiled, picturing the wondrous creature in my head. “They are very interesting creatures. Very loyal, gentle to all but their prey, very fast and only seen by those who have seen death.”

“And no creature has a better sense of direction.” Neville added, grinning slightly. He was remembering when we took them to the Ministry. Or when they took us. “You name a place anywhere in the world, they’ll know where it is and go there.”

“And I haven’t gotten lost in the castle once all day.” Rachel said softly as his words registered. “Even when I was a cockroach or in the most random place in this castle, I’ve known exactly where I was and needed to go.”

“Like magic.” Seamus grinned broadly as the younger group stared at Rachel in amazement and my other friends stared at them in wonder and surprise. Not to blame them of course, this was entirely unheard of. It was a way to share magical powers with the non-magical, to give them our power, like the Ministry was currently claiming was the way all Muggleborns had magic, though this version does not have them stealing ours.

“This will have to stay hushed.” Ernie stated firmly, drawing everyone’s attention. His face had grown very hard and dark once again, though this time there was a great deal of worry there too. “Maybe we can explore the possibilities of morphing power giving Muggles magic at a later date, but right now it will only be used to prove the Ministry’s ‘Muggleborns are magic thieves’ claim. And if you guys do give us your power, we’ll need to keep its magic based effects on us a secret too. It’ll be too suspicious if anyone found out about any usual gifts we might get and the Death Eaters may deem us to dangerous to be alive and walking free.”

“That’s assuming that they give us their gift.” Ginny stated before turning towards the Animorphs. “Will you?”

“Yes. I think we will.” Jake decided, looking each of over approvingly. Though, I did get the feeling that one more test of us would be made before the gift was given. “Though, if it’s alright, I’d like to ask of one in return. I’d like you guys to help all my teammates and I gain a magical creature morph. It would be nice to not have any anti-non-magical human illusions in our way.”

“I think that’ll be easy enough to arrange.” Neville nodded with a snort. “You’ve come to the best place to get one. The area’s full of them.”

“Then I say we get this started.” Ernie stated, standing up straight and heading towards the door, turning questioningly to the young Muggles. “Since it’s technology, I’m guessing the source of your power is outside Hogwarts?”

“Yeah, with two other teammates.” Rachel nodded as she followed him, the rest of us doing the same right after the confirmation. We only waited long enough for Mr Andalite to morph into a fly again before heading out, the others opting to remain human. And off we went, through the corridors and down the stairs, careful to avoid the teachers, on our next grand adventure.

I hope whoever’s watching us goes away soon though. I can’t see them, but I know whoever’s eyes I’m feeling on my back are most unpleasant.


	13. Jake

My name is Jake.

I had to admit that I was pretty relieved. After all the trouble we’d had reaching the castle, I was expecting things to be a lot more difficult. I was expecting to have to watch whoever we chose for three days, I was expecting magic like the stuff around the castle walls and evil wizards that had taken over the place to make travelling through it a nightmare. I was expecting a lot of time consuming requirements and the need to react to unexpected situations to appear again and again.

But I’d underestimated the students of this school. Most of the kids we’ve chosen, not that I can really call them that, they’re older than me, were just as capable as us, their experiences involving or created in response to the war having well prepared them for what’s to come, and in turn, their actions had cut our job down by days of work. If we’d been this ready before gaining the morphing power then the Yeerks wouldn’t be nearly as far along as they were. The advantage of magic, what are you gonna do?

“So where exactly are we going?” Neville asked as we crept out the main door, flinching as it creaked loudly shut. Tobias had already long taken off into the sky and assured us that no one was around, inside or out as far as he could tell, but it was still a really bad idea to make much noise. The last thing we wanted was to be discovered, especially by the Carrows the wizards had told us about.

“We’re heading around the lake a little and then into the forest.” I informed him, pointing roughly to where the others were hiding. “It’s the closest, safest place we could find where the cube still works.”

“How exactly will it work anyway?” Seamus asked curiously as he took the lead, guiding them through the darkest parts of the yard and towards the Greenhouses. Stealth was his element, so we simply followed him without comment. “Getting this power?”

//You will place you hand flat on one side of the cube and the energy the cube distributes will be absorbed into your flesh.// Ax replied simply. //The process is very quick, simple and painless.//

“That’s a relief. Is transforming painless too?” Ginny asked softly, a flicker of worry crossing her face. “It looked and sounded anything but.”

“Yes, it’s painless.” I nodded reassuringly, watching as her face relaxed back into its more keen state. Though, that did remind me that we hadn’t warned them about the dangers of the power. 'Well, no time like the present.' I decided. After all, the walk would be more than long enough. “Though that does remind me to warn you about the dangers of morphing.”

“Dangers?” Ernie asked, raising an irritated eyebrow. “Yes, I think we should know about them. What kinds of dangers are we talking about?”

“There’s only two that we’ve come across. And four facts you should know, though you’d figure them out pretty quickly on your own, trust me.” I said calmly, giving the most uptight wizard a placating look. “The biggest danger, the one that you’ll face every time you morph, is the time limit. You have two hours to return to your true form, otherwise you’re stuck in that form forever. That’s why Tobias is dominantly a hawk.”

“But he can morph.” Anthony commented confusedly, the others nodding in agreement, each looking equally lost.

“Yeah, but that’s because of an event that had only happened once before him, though not with the same result, and will probably never happen again.” I explained, fixing all of them with a very serious look. “Unless you know someone with the magic need to warp reality itself, I recommend never relying on that method. Even today, though he can become his human self again, among all his other morphs, Tobias is still a hawk.”

“Ok, we’ll remember that.” Neville stated, getting nods of agreement from the others. “So what’s the second danger?”

“Allergic reactions.” I answered simply, nodding my head towards Rachel. “We’ve only seen it once, but when Rachel absorbed the DNA of a crocodile, her body reacted very badly to it. For days her morphing was completely out of control, going from one animal to another, which goes against one of the four facts I mentioned; you can’t go from one morph straight to another normally, you have to return to your true form first. It didn’t stop until her body rejected the DNA it was allergic to; in the form of the crocodile she acquired it from.”

“She released a crocodile from her body?” Luna asked airily, staring back to a troubled looking Rachel. “That doesn’t sound pleasant.”

“It wasn’t.” She nodded distractedly, her eyes never leaving the sky. “And then the stupid croc tried to eat us. But enough on that, can we pick up the pace please?” She asked, surprising me with the level of insistency in her voice. Taking a better look at her, I quickly grew worried when I noticed just how sickly pale she’d grown since coming outside. “Those floating bodies are giving me the creeps.”

“What floating bodies?” I cried, whipping my head up and straining to see in the dark, but all I could find was Tobias. “I don’t see anything.”

“But you’ll feel their power if they come any closer.” Ginny responded grimly as Neville nodded to Seamus, silently agreeing to speed up. “Only magical beings can see them. They’re horrible, dark creatures called Dementors. They look like gnarled, rotting humanoids draped in ragged, black robes. They feed off the happy memories of those around them, their ability proving to be most effective on humans. When they do, those around them are left with only their bad memories and are forced to relive them again and again. Prolonged containment in their company usually drives the victims mad and suicidal.”

//They are the guards of the Wizarding prison?// Ax asked, remembering what Erek told us just as I was.

“Yes. But now that they are allied with the Dark Lord, they are free to terrorize a great many other places now.” Ernie growled, staring up hatefully at what looked to me to be empty sky. “No one’s ever found a way to destroy them, only repel them. It’s why they were placed at Azkaban and other Wizarding prisons around the world. We don’t have the power to contain them properly so if we didn’t concede to feeding them with the darkest of our kind, they’d go off and feed on every human in sight. But even the worst of the dark wizards don’t deserve to have the combined power of a thousand Dementors focused on him at once. I actually pity anyone sent to Azkaban, regardless of what they do to be sent there.”

“And now the cells are filled with innocent Muggleborns.” Seamus growled lowly as we reached the greenhouses and moved on for the hut near the borderline of the grounds. “Granted half the Dementors are running wild around here and who knows where now, but it’s still the most horrific place you could possibly find.”

“I don’t know about that.” Anthony muttered, staring sadly at the ground as he bit his lip. “The Yeerk Pool down in the Chamber gave me a good idea of just how bad Azkaban could be. It’d have to come pretty close, Azkaban and Yeerk imprisonment.”

//Let’s just hope that Visser Three never decides to mix the two.// Tobias said darkly, swooping low to the ground.

“It’s bad enough that these Muggleborns are intended to go from one to the other.” I agreed.

“What do you mean?” Neville cried, suddenly very nervous as he turned back to me. “I thought that the Yeerks’ plans were at the school.”

“Oh no, the Yeerks never work on such a small scale.” Rachel shook her head. “Did you shut off before? They go big or not at all. What good would just infesting children be for a full invasion, especially if the most skilled are involved in a war the Yeerks don’t want to die in? They have plans set up you Government and Azkaban. The second your war is over, everyone in the prison will be taken an infested on the spot, a new army of powerful, but mentally broken slaves obtained in an instant that, when uniting with the agents hidden in the rest of your society, can easily infest the rest of you. The prisoners are the perfect hosts.”

“Then we have to get everyone out of Azkaban!” Ernie demanded, earning nods of agreement from all the wizards and witches as he looked right at me. “Will you help us do that?”

“I was hoping that once we got you guys on board that we could find some way to deal with that.” I said as we finally reached the lake and walked around it. Taking the lead, I pushed a few branches out of the way and guided them straight to the others. “We don’t know where it is or what magic is guarding it past Dementors. Hey, where are you going?” I called, suddenly distracted as a small, blond and black blur suddenly took off a little too far right and out of sight.

Tensing, Neville, Ernie and Ginny whipped up their wands and pointed them in a wide arc ahead of them as they slowly move after Luna. It was amazing how well they worked together, seeming to know exactly what to do and how the others would react. Anthony looked a little awkward, obviously not as used to the people around him, but with Seamus moving purposefully behind and monitoring the flank, the others looked like well tuned machine.

Noticing Ax already demorphing behind the safety of a thick tree and Tobias grabbing a high perch, ready to swoop and claw if he had to, I stepped back behind Anthony with Rachel and started before starting our own morphs, Rachel gaining height and bulk while I gained orange and black striped fur.

Sparing only a second to ensure everyone was in place, Neville nodded his head and started to rush through the bushes only to yelp as Luna burst back through them on the back of a creepy black, skin and bone horse. With wings!

“Oh, she found a Thestral. You guys sure know how to set a scary mood over nothing.” Rachel shrugged as she reverted her morph, her full confidence returning as Ax walked calmly out beside us. The wizards and witches had relaxed a bit too, though I couldn’t help but notice that only Neville didn’t look a little confused for a moment, their eyes never quite meeting the body of the beast carrying the blond.

“There’s a Thestral here? Oh, thank God Hagrid’s trained them, that would be a rather horrifying end.” Anthony sighed, lowing his wand.

“Don’t worry, it looks quite relaxed.” Neville informed him, petting it’s head softly, getting strange looks from Ernie and Ginny and only confusing me more.

“Why do you need to ask? Even I can see it looks perfectly docile.” I asked with a frown. “Kinda creepy, but docile.”

“I asked because I can’t see it.” Ok, that was a surprise. Why the heck could I see it if the blond wizard couldn’t? “Only those who have seen someone die can see a Thestral, a fact that made many idiotic wizards claim that they are dark creatures. We’ve all seen a dead body, but only Luna and Neville have actually seen someone die.”

“That’s just weird!” Another voice cried, drawing everyone’s attention and resulting in Neville, Ginny and Ernie instantly raising their wands again. However, having heard that voice pretty much every day of my life, I quickly jumped in front of them before they could do any damage.

“It’s ok! That’s Marco, one of us.” I exclaimed hastily as Ax passed by and sliced away at the branches and bushes until our little hideout was in full view. And standing right before it was Marco and Cassie, the former looking everyone over with a raised eyebrow and the latter offering them all a nervous, but soothing smile.

“Sorry to startle you. We got a little nervous about all the commotion.” Cassie said, walking up with a wave. “I’m Cassie.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lass.” Seamus grinned, looking thoroughly relaxed as we approached, stopping right in front of Cassie with Anthony by his side. “I believe it’s to you that we hold a spot of gratitude for last night’s rather unpleasant event.”

“We are very grateful.” Anthony nodded, smiling politely.

“I was happy to help. Seamus and Anthony?” She asked questioningly, getting smiles and nods as she correctly pointed at them in turn.

“With Neville, Ernie, Ginny and Luna.” Rachel stated, pointing to each in turn. “Our new Magical Animorphs.”

“So they past every test then?” Marco asked, staring over each of them critically, pausing only to wait for Ax to nod. Neville, Ginny and Ernie all tensed, Ernie and Ginny going so far as to look back defiantly as he looked them over while Luna was unaffected as always, Seamus clearly could care less about being scrutinized and Anthony grew nervous and stared at the ground.

“Yes, and they’re better than we hoped for.” I nodded, watching his and Cassie’s faces for any sign of doubt. They hadn’t had any contact with the wizards, but if there was something amiss that we hadn’t seen, they’d pick it up. “Talented, resourceful, sneaky, powerful and battle ready. We saw them training with the rest of their group and it really was impressive.”

“Well then, let’s hope that they can do the same as all different animals.” Marco responded, nodding his approval as Cassie smiled encouragingly. Both agreed with our choices and just like that, the tension seemed to disappear, though Ernie and Ginny still looked a little put off by my best friend. But then again, most people are. He’s not the easiest person to get along with.

//Speaking of which...// Tobias said lightly, further breaking the mood as he settled on the Thestral’s back behind Luna and left it fall into a trance as he acquired it. //Cassie, Marco, if we acquire a magical creature, the magic stays in us enough to see through illusions meant to fool the non-magical. Rachel can see the castle from a mile away, and she can even see the creatures that were invisible to us in the village last night. You’ll need magical eyes for where we’re going next, so get acquiring.//

“Great! Now if only we knew that before we went barging into a castle that’s disguised to look like a dilapidated wreck.” Marco grumbled, stepping up cautiously and placing his hand on the Thestral’s side before Cassie, Ax and I followed. When my turn was up, I was a little surprised that it felt no different than when I’d acquired my dog or the tiger. Seeing that magic was now flowing through my veins, which I knew was happening now because I could actually see what had to be a Dementor floating in the sky that was not in sight ten seconds previously, I guess I was expecting it to feel more dramatic.

“So, speaking of morphing...” Neville cleared his throat, shifting his weight nervously from one foot to the other. “When do we-”

“HIT THE DECK!” I didn’t even have time to react to the Irishman’s scream before he’d tackled me to the ground. Two seconds before five flashes of light flew over our heads and crashed into the trees and rocks behind us blowing them away or to smithereens.

“What the heck was- WHOA!” Marco couldn’t even finish his sentence before another set of streaking lights and a fireball shot our way again, forcing us all to roll and scamper away. Shot after shot came right at us, not even giving me or my team time to rise and had us forever rolling in random directions.

Fortunately, Neville was better prepared.

“Seamus! Protego!” He snapped, whipping his wand up as he pulled his roll to a halt. A yellow streak flying right at him seemed to strike a solid wall that only came visible as the offending spell struck, its light rippling over the barrier as it fizzled out.

At the same time, Seamus, rolling right onto his feet, muttered a series of undistinguishable words under his breath as he raised his own wand and our former hideout was surrounded by a ring of fire, eliciting startled, and in one case, pained screams, both from me and my friends and from the attackers hidden from view.

“AARRGGHH!” Turning to my left, I found Ax already galloping right at what looked like rippling air in the form of a human. I would have considered it a trick of the fire if it wasn’t for the fact that the humanoid shape was too far in the circle of flames, moving and, most importantly, screaming due to actually being on fire.

“Aguamenti!” The ripple’s scream was followed a second later by a stream of water and a sigh of relief. Followed again by an ‘oof’ as the flat side of Ax’ tail blade slapped him in the head, knocking him out.

“Ax, MOVE!” Cassie scream as another explosion flew out from the fire. Seeing it with a stalk eye, Ax easily dodged it only to suddenly snap all of his limbs tightly to his body and flop to the ground.

“HAHA! I got the freak!” A loud, rather dumb sounding boy cheered right as Neville’s team simultaneously cried out with ‘Protego Maxima’ and created a dome of light around us, easily deflecting the four streaks of magic coming our way. Given a reprieve from dodging who knows what, I looked back just long enough to see Anthony tending to a raging Ax, freeing his limbs, before turning back to where the enemy fire was coming from. I still couldn’t see anyone for sure, but through the burning flames, I was able to see other human shaped ripples. Ignoring the one Ax dealt with, there were five, one of which was particularly chubby and jumping around excitedly. The one that shot Ax, no doubt.

“That was Crabbe.” Ernie muttered scornfully, his face warping into an ugly mask as he scanned the still attacking enemies over. Some of the spells hitting our bright, but dulling shield were creating bangs like thunder and I was starting to get a headache. “That means we’re dealing with a group of ruddy Slytherins.”

“The other four still standing are feminine.” Anthony commented, looking each of the ripples sharply. “Judging from height and body outlines, I’d say the seventh year girls.”

“How are they doing that?” Rachel grumbled as the shield looked like it was about to crack, my team pulling back towards some scattered rocks for cover. “I almost lose them when they stop moving.”

“Disillusion spell.” Ginny answered, tightening her grip on her as she focused more power into the shield with the others. “Almost as good as invisibility when you don’t move, but a fair bit more noticeable when you do. Neville, what do we do?” She asked, turning back to the matter at hand. “We’ve never had to protect people without magic before, we’re pinned down and this is probably drawing attention from both the forest and the school.”

“We’ll just have to be-”

“Hey, look at this!” A thick, feminine voice called startling us all. Somehow, one of the attackers had gotten through the circle of fire and behind us without us knowing. And picked up the morphing cube hidden behind some stones. “I wonder what the Muggle filths’ toy can do.”

//You have to stop them now!// Tobias and Ax screamed simultaneously, instantly spurring wizards into action.

“Ignitis Concrematio!” Screams filled the air as the ring of fire exploded out in a wave, burning the four still hidden behind the trees. Their disillusion charms ended at that moment too, revealing the group clearly, stunned and screaming as they rolled around, trying to put out their burning clothes.

“Stupefy!”

“Impedimenta!”

“Incarcerous!”

“Petrificus Totalus!”

Neville, Ginny, Ernie and Luna’s spells were released simultaneously, creating quite the display. Not being one the targeting end of it, I was actually able to spend a few seconds watching in awe as red and white lights zoomed right across the field and striking two of the girls while ropes followed behind. The lesser speed did nothing to lessen the impressiveness of them, as they slithered quickly through the air like snakes and coiled tightly around the screaming boy, Crabbe, finally shutting him up as they finished up, wrapping right around his mouth. I didn’t see any spell leave Luna’s wand, but the last girl was still and stiff as a board, just as Ax had been moments before.

“Put the box down Parkinson. Gently.” Anthony ordered, his wand levelled, albeit shakily, right for the pig of a girl’s head.

Parkinson only responded by putting her wand tip within an inch of the cube, growling in an attempt to look intimidating, only for it to be ruined by her visibly shaking body, a look of fury and fear decorating her face as the twelve of us formed a semicircle around her. Six wands, a deadly tail blade and a circling hawk, along with a few extra humans to ensure that she had far too many targets, was far more than she could handle. Her only advantage now was the threat to the cube.

“You lot have reached a new low! Associating with Muggle filth!” Parkinson spat vilely, taking a step back and brandishing her wand threateningly at the cube. “Five of you are disgraces to your own kind, purebloods talking and protecting dirty Muggles. As if the lousy half blood among you and the filthy Mudbloods weren’t despicable enough, you’re now befriending actual Muggle vermin and a freak of a centaur? Despicable blood traitors, the lot of you.”

“If you don’t shut your mouth right now, I’m going to take your already pig-like of a face and disfigure it so bad that it’ll make your current horrid appearance look like a world class supermodel’s!” Rachel yelled, a deadly promise gleaming in her eyes. The venom, rage and disgust that had been noticeable in Parkinson the whole time she’d been talking had shifted to my cousin and Neville’s group, not that the rest of us weren’t bristling. Even Cassie looked ready to slap the bitch. It would have been a race between most of us to see who could hurt her first if it wasn’t for the fact that the...girl was threatening the most important device we’d ever come across or ever would again.

"H-how d-d-dare you talk to me like that, you filthy animal.” Parkinson stuttered, taking another step away only for us to take a step forward. “You-you will pay! When the Dark Lord is done, the only filthy Muggles that won’t have died a gruesome death will be the Mudbloods suffering in Azkaban and our sla-”

She was cut off before she could finish however, as a flash of red shot out and struck her in the back, its light illuminating her and leaving her looking rather disconcerting as she sucked in a loud breath before collapsing to the ground. Which would have been fine if she wasn’t about to crush the cube between her body and the rocks.

“NO!” Marco cried, breaking into a run alongside Ax, but it was obvious that they’d never make it and Neville’s team had either fallen into shock at what had just happened, like Cassie, Anthony and Ginny, or had snapped their attention to the trees behind Parkinson, searching for a new attacker. None had processed the danger to the cube, if they realised that it could be damaged at all.

Fortunately, our unknown saviour wasn’t done yet, for before the cube had even made it halfway to the ground it suddenly snapped up and shot straight through the trees and into the hand of a dark skinned teenager stepping calmly and coolly out into plain view, tucking his wand into his robes as he did.

“Hey cool, a saviour.” Marco said lightly. Though that didn’t mean much, he was still watching the new appearance cautiously. And as I looked around, I noticed that Neville’s group was doing the same.

“Zabini.” Ernie more stated then greeted, watching him warily, his fingers twitching around his wand. “I must admit, this is unexpected.”

“I’m sure you would think that, MacMillan.” Zabini replied coolly, staring coldly right back. “It is always rather amusing how the other houses fully accept that everyone in them is an individual, but everyone in mine holds the same morals and personality. At least Ravenclaws have a little more insight.” He added, nodding almost civilly to Anthony, getting one in return.

“For those of us who are out of towners, can we get an update here?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the boy. He still had the cube in his palm and he gave off a vibe I wasn’t entirely comfortable with. Plus, now that he’d stepped further into the clearing, I could see the snake emblem on his chest. The fourth, darker House of Slytherin. Marco and Rachel clearly saw it too. They’d stiffened quite spectacularly.

“Blaise Zabini is a Slytherin in my year.” Neville explained. “I don’t know much about him, but unlike most Slytherins, he’s never given us any trouble. Doesn’t help us either. He generally just minds his own business.”

“Why would I bother concerning myself with the affairs of others?” Zabini asked coldly, looking over each member of our group before settling again on Neville. “They do not concern me.”

“Neither did this. Yet here you are.” Cassie pointed out only to flinch when his chilly gaze dropped once again on her.

“Silly girl. Of course this concerns me.” He snapped, holding the box out to us on his flat palm. “The Wizarding world is at war and all within it will be affected. That includes me. And in this clearing are some of the best fighters for my side that are left in the school. They will be needed when the time comes. Now would someone take this toy of yours? The tingling is starting to annoy me.

//Tingling?// Tobias cried, expressing the shock every Animorph felt. That may not be good. We’d just unintentionally, albeit indirectly, created another Animorph. One that I wasn’t sure we could trust.

“So you’re actually against the Dark Lord?” Seamus cried, flabbergasted as I reached out for the cube, quickly backing away from the icy guy as soon as it was in my hand. The Irishman look completely lost as he went on. “But your father was a Death Eater! And you hate Muggleborns and ‘blood traitors’. Why would you be against him?”

“Well, for a start, idiot, my father was also killed by that man before I even got the chance to know him.” Zabini snapped, finally showing a little more heat, his voice seething with controlled rage. “And yes, I have no love for Muggles, Mudbloods or blood traitors, but that does not mean that I want them dead or suffering. I don’t believe these statements are worthy of being criminal offenses or an excuse to cause pain. I long accepted that they have a place in the world too, I just prefer that their place be separated from mine.”

“A live and let live deal.” Luna said dreamily, ignoring the tenseness in the air completely in favour of staring at the cube in my hand.

“Exactly. They leave me alone, I leave them alone.” Zabini nodded. “The Dark Lord has no right to slaughter and torture them and even if I was ok with that, I still wouldn’t be ok with him. Even his own side faces the same possible future every time they stand before him. Asking a simple question or making a suggestion is grounds for torture where he’s concerned. Why would I be so foolish as to want him around? He’s a threat to us all.” 

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Ernie muttered, though he didn’t seem too thrilled with it. The Gryffindors seemed even more wary of him, not that Zabini seemed to care. In fact, he’d stopped looking at us at all, choosing to snarl disgustedly down at Parkinson before pulling out his wand and levitating her into the air.

“I’ll erase their memories and dump them in our dorms. But next time, do us all a favour and be more careful. These idiot managed to follow you right through the castle. I don’t like wasting my time just to save your butts.”

“No one-”

“Thanks Blaise.” Anthony interrupted, irritating Ernie and getting raised eyebrows from the rest of us at how genuine he sounded. “I appreciate it.”

Blaise said nothing in response, but his hard face did seem to soften a little as he nodded to the Ravenclaw before turning back to his housemates. Within moments, he was already gone.

//You are civilised with him?// Ax asked as everyone turned back to Anthony, our looks varying between shocked, annoyed and curious and leaving him quickly growing red and nervous.

“We um...have ancient runes and arithmancy and um...we ended up assigned to the same table. At first it was uncomfortable, but we eventually came to help each other out a little here and there.” He muttered, stumbling over his words as he looked hesitantly from one person to the next, but never in the eye, not even to me or my friends. He look scared. It didn’t take me long to realise that he was terrified that we would stop trusting him.

“This could work in our favour.” Well, that wasn’t expected. I was waiting for Ernie to snap at Anthony, or Neville or Seamus to ask questions, or Luna to make a random comment. But instead, the first speaker was Marco. And he actually sounded pleased with this new development! Even I could never have predicted that one.

“How so?” Ginny asked, raising a sharp eyebrow, the others frowning curiously, if not a little irritably.

“Well, he was being honest. And he hasn’t ratted us out or stuck around after ‘wasting time to save our butts’ so he must be on the level.” He added, looking to Cassie and Tobias and only waiting for their agreement in his claims. “And while he doesn’t know it, that tingling in his hand was his body absorbing the morphing power, which means he’s one of us now.”

“What?” Ernie and Neville cried, both growing wide eyed as the others gasped in shock. “You serious?”

“Yep. So it is really good that he’s willing to communicate with at least one of you.” I nodded, seeing where Marco was going with this. “If he’s infested, then the Yeerks will know everything, not only about you guys, but us and the fact that he has the power, even if he doesn’t realize it himself. We can’t let them know that morphing power has been passed on to humans at all, so he will have to be informed of what’s going on.”

“Plus, seeing that he fights when events could affect him, he would likely assist us.” Luna commented airily. “After all, he would probably not like have a Yeerk in his head. I’m sure he would find it most irritating.”

//Very true. And considering Slytherin’s position, it might help to have someone on the inside. He could get information and access to weak points that you never could.// Tobias added thoughtfully.

“I see your point.” Neville conceded, though he didn’t like it much. Ernie, Seamus and Ginny didn’t look much different. Personally, I was very glad that people from Ravenclaw were on the team. Though they were not the fighters the others were, they were far more open minded. “We’ll work on Zabini. Or rather, Anthony will.” He added nodding to the finally relaxing blond boy before stepping up to me. “So are we gonna do this now or what?” He asked, indicating the box.

Nodding right back, I held it up in my palm toward him. “We’ll do this three at a time. All you have to do is place your hand flat against one side of the cube.”

All signs of irritation or tiredness disappeared as the air of excitement returned to the wizards. Looking between each other, they seemed to come to an unspoke decision that the Gryffindors would go first, Ginny and Seamus taking up their places on either side of Neville before each of them reached out for a cube face. The others all watched on as their faces turned thoughtful, though they were still smiling, at what had to be the tingling sensation of the absorption.

“It’s done.” I stated a moment later, offering each of them a grin. “Welcome to the club.”

“Awesome! I can’t wait to try this out.” Seamus cheered, his smile taking up almost half his face as he went back and forth from staring at his hand and the area around him. “Where’d that Thestral go?”

“Down tiger, wait for your friends.” Rachel grinned broadly. She’d definitely taken a liking to Irishman. Ginny too. They’d both shown plenty of the fierceness and keen for action nature that she possessed.

“Yeah, wait for us.” Ernie agreed, walking up to me with the Ravenclaws as the Gryffindors moved out of the way. Though those three had looked a little more hesitant before, probably unsure about the safety of the process, seeing its success in not harming their friends had completely reinstated their keenness and confidence. It was only a moment later that all six leaders and stealth masters of the DA had become Animorphs.

“So what’s the next step?” Ginny asked as everyone finally stopped cheering and settled into a more warrior-like persona. “Acquire some monsters in the forest and lay waste to their Yeerk Pool?”

“No, the pool’s unpredictable.” I shook my head, getting grunts of agreement from the others. “Even if you found it, they would have technology down there and they’ve probably already set up a Biofilter at the entrance you found since last night. It’ll destroy anything without a Yeerk in its head, and even if there isn’t one, you’d have magic, deadly Dracon beams and who knows how many Hork-Bajir and Taxxons to deal with. Besides, if you take the pool away, they’ll take every witch and wizard Controller they’ve got to a pool elsewhere and you won’t be able to save them. It’s best to avoid it for now.”

“So then how are we supposed to get the Yeerks out of the school?” Seamus asked, quickly coming down from his high. “What else can we do?”

“Stop them from progressing.” I answered.

//And cut them off from the Pool whenever you can.// Ax added. //As you gain knowledge of their actions and, weaken their numbers and amass your own without fear of them being infested, you will set yourself up for that final conflict and most likely prove successful.//

“Well, that shouldn’t be too hard.” Ginny smirked smugly. “The Portraits, Filch, Death Eaters and House Elves are making it near impossible to keep their actions secret in the castle. And our actions probably will draw more.”

//True, it’s mostly the Yeerk opts in the forest that you’ll have to worry about.// Tobias agreed. //There you’ll see plenty of Hork-Bajir and Taxxons. Try saving the bladed guys, they make good friends and valuable allies.//

“But this still hasn’t answered Ginny’s question.” Neville reminded us, staring at each of us, magical, Muggle, bird and alien alike. “Surely this isn’t all you guys planned to do here?”

“Hardly.” I agreed, ignoring the questioning looks I got from a few of my friends. We still hadn’t talked everything through, but now that twelve morph capables of two worlds were gathered and ready, it was time to get all the Intel we needed to prepare for the rest of the problem. “We have two other pools in place in Wizard territory. Obviously, no one here can get at the Ministry, so we need to work on a plan to deal with that. But the third one...” I added, giving everyone a smirk that was far more often seen on Rachel. “If you guys are prepared to ditch school and face a little danger, how about we work out a plan for a massive jailbreak?”

“Oh, I like this guy.” Seamus smirked right back at me. “I believe this is the start of a rather beautiful friendship."


	14. Ginny

My name is Ginny.

We had no idea where the Thestral took off to and strangely enough, the only other creatures around were Dementors. Since none of us wanted to get close to them if we could help it, we decided that the seasoned Animorphs would morph Thestral and carry us to our next destination, while we in turn held on to their stuff. Once again, it was a little tricky getting everyone on one, seeing as only Luna and Neville could see them, but Jake and the others were much more helpful than the Thestrals one and a half years ago, so it only took a couple of minutes.

At that moment, we were already flying faster than a broom could ever hope to go through the night sky, swooping over forests and country sides, lakes and rivers as we went on our way to London. Not that I was paying attention to the scenery. Not being able to see what I was sitting on, I’d opted to spending the trip with my eyes closed, enjoying the wind. I love flying more than anything else, but it’s a little too disconcerting for me to not be able to see what I’m flying on. A complete lack of vision makes it easier to handle.

//So why do you want to go to this Grimauld Street anyway?// Cassie asked curiously, as she gave her wings a few extra flaps, readjusting to the altered wind resistance. //Is there a zoo or something there?//

“Oh no, I don’t know where that is.” I shouted in response. She was the Thestral I was riding, but at our speed, the wind made conversations rather hard to here. “But I might know where we can find help for the out of school activity. They’re the most trustworthy people I know and the least likely to have been infested.”

//I see.// Jake broke in a few seconds later, probably getting a mental recap. There was no way he heard me. At least I don’t think he could have, I don’t know much about Thestral hearing. //If you’re sure you’re right.// He added hesitantly. I guess that was fair, considering all my friends and I had discovered and all the Animorphs had told us, he had plenty of reasons not to trust blindly and there was a possibility that I was wrong.

But I doubted it. If I was, the war would be a lot closer to ending. They were the key to our sides morale, our heroes, our greatest hope. If the Yeerks got them, they would have used them to end our side, or at least cripple it so Voldemort could finish what he started.

It’s amazing how much weight our world is willing to throw onto the shoulders of a teenage wizard.

It only made me feel worse to inflict him with more knowledge that he’d be compelled to do something about, but at the same time, we’d be giving him a power that would help give him a leg-up on Voldemort. And if anyone was guaranteed to be uninfested and actually capable of hurting the Yeerks outside of Hogwarts, it was Harry, Ron and Hermione.

//Hey, it’s Big Ben!// Marco cried joyfully, surprising me a little. It was the first time I’d heard him talk without any note of sarcastic humour or suspicion. Opening my eyes, even I grinned as we swooped past it. I’d seen it plenty of times, but it did look rather different from the air and very impressive.

//And there’s the ferris wheel, London Eye.// Tobias added, his voice giving off a sense of awe as he stared at the brightly lit attraction. The red lights moving around the ring, bathed in the lights of the buildings around it and reflecting off the water really did make it look pretty impressive. I’d never seen it at night and I’d barely ever paid attention to Muggle attractions during the day, so to see it now was pretty amazing to me too.

//Remind me to come back here one day, after the war.// Rachel said softy. I could imagine the small smile that would have been on her human face as she stared at the city. //Along with Paris. I would love to come and enjoy this city.//

//For that, we’ll have to make sure it stays intact.// Jake reminded us, effectively ruining the mood the others had made for me. //We’re almost at this Grimauld Street. What now?//

“Land. We’ll be going into a house, but it’ll be best if only one or two people come in with me.” I called, relying on Cassie to relay what I was saying. “It’s magically protected, but it may have compromised, so the people inside might think we’re attacking them.”

//I really hope you know what you’re doing.// Jake muttered, not sounding too pleased as we dropped down into an alley. Again, I understood, I couldn’t fault him for that. I was grateful that he’d put so much trust in my decision here in the first place. //Are you sure that approaching these guys is such a good idea? The Yeerks do have some of the Wizards outside your school and there will be plenty of infested people in London. They’ve tried getting the Muggle Political Head before and London’s one of the best targets in the world.//

“Trust me, these three will be clean.” Neville nodded as we jumped off the Animorphs before watching on disgustedly as they demorphed.

“Oh man, that’s gonna take some getting used to.” Ernie moaned, looking more than a little green. I couldn’t even nod my head in agreement, I was too scared that the motion would result in throwing up.

//You know who she’s after?// Marco asked, sounding far more wary than Jake. I’ve heard plenty of comments from him since meeting him in the forest and I am already well aware that he holds the most skeptical nature in the Animorphs. Though it probably kept their team alive, like Hermione’s often prevented others from doing something incredibly stupid or rash, so it’s a good thing. //What makes you so sure that none of the bad guys have gotten to them?//

“Because there’s only three people Ginny would be thinking of, few would have an idea of where to find them and if either the Yeerks or the Death Eaters got to them, everyone would know it.” Neville replied, Seamus, Ernie and Anthony nodding firmly while Luna grinned. “One of them is Harry Potter. The most powerful wizard of our generation and the one prophesised to defeat the Dark Lord. His death would gut the morale of our entire side and those who’d keep fighting would decide that there’s nothing left to lose and charge in until we were dead. The war would end lot quicker and you’d know what side to bet on.”

“And where Harry goes, so do Ron and Hermione.” Seamus added. “They won’t let him out of their sight, let alone do anything dangerous on his own. He’s too determined to do everything on his own, regardless of the fact that he can’t. They care about him far too much to risk him taking off on his own.”

“So what makes you think he’s here?” Cassie asked, already fully human again, despite the fact that the others were only halfway through the process. “You said it’s compromised. Wouldn’t he stay away?”

“That’s why he’d come here.” I answered as Ernie grabbed Anthony and headed towards the main street. The pair of them stuck their heads around the corners and scanned the area, looking for any Death Eaters. “The house was inherited by Harry from his Godfather. It’s such an obvious place to hide that no one would think he’d bother with it.”

“Hiding in plain sight.” Rachel nodded her fully human head in approval as the last traces of Thestral disappeared from the group. “Smart, gutsy. I like the sound of them already. Are all wizards like this?”

“Nah. But Harry, Ron and Hermione were Gryffindors like me, Ginny and Seamus.” Neville smirked with a shrug. “They were always like that. And Harry and Hermione in particular always held the attention of our House and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the school so much that they started rubbing off on anyone who really took the time to get to know them. And Harry was the one to train us.”

“They were planning to take on a really big mission from Dumbledore, our former Headmaster and leader of Order of the Phoenix, a group dedicated to stopping the Dark Lord.” I informed them as Ernie and Anthony came back with an ‘all clear’. “They’re likely to cross paths with the Yeerks while they do it, if the level of secrecy and enormity that’s given off about it is anything to go by, so if we can warn them and have them deal with the Yeerks along the way...”

“It helps both you and them.” Marco nodded, though he still looked a little troubled. Though, now I felt that he was being a little paranoid. “Then let’s hope you’re right and they’re their. Alone.”

“But we’ll do this similarly to how we met you guys.” Jake stated firmly, leaving no room for argument and instantly gaining the backing of Marco and Ax. “Three people walk in. Ax, Cassie and I will ride those three in with insect morphs. You said it yourself, this place might be compromised.” He added quickly as I opened my mouth. “We can’t take unnecessary risks, and besides, Ax’ sudden appearance is always the best way to ensure that the Yeerks aren’t around.”

“Fine.” I sighed, conceding defeat. I suppose that it was fair. They knew more about the Yeerks and how they act, they were right to say that there was some danger to this and I was already asking a lot in trusting me this far. I couldn’t expect blind faith to go any farther than this. “But everyone will have to have physical contact with me. The place is protected by a weakened Fidelius charm, so you need someone who knows the secret to show you where it is.”

“Luna and I’ll go in with you.” Neville decided before anyone else could speak up, not that the others were arguing with the point. Harry in particular had always really liked Seamus and he and Ernie had developed a great deal of respect for each other, but neither of them had the same level of friendship and trust from them as we did and Anthony’s only interactions with the Golden Trio, as Gryffindor House had taken to calling them, consisted solely of the original DA meetings.

“Well, what are you all waiting for?” Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow. “The sooner we see if they’re home and bring them in, the sooner we go ruin the reputation of ‘the world’s most secure prison’ and send two tyrants into immature fits. I don’t know about you guys, but I want to get those people away from creatures of depression ASAP.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Jake nodded. He was already shrinking again, this time his skin hardening into a very distinct exoskeleton. Cassie and Ax were quick to join him and after a few minutes of the latest horror show, two flies and a dragonfly were perching themselves on my shoulders. I had to bat away the urge to fling them off the whole time I led the way to our destination. Taking a deep breath, I took a moment to bury my worries as I watched Tobias power flap into the air and circle around the area before grabbing Neville and Luna by the hands and walking right up to the door of number 12.

“I always wondered what it was like to see a Fidelius protected house for the first time.” Neville muttered, stopping us for a second as he stared up in awe. Luna seemed to be happily staring up at the building too, causing a grin to spread on my own face and my fear of finding the place deserted or infested with Death Eaters to momentarily disappear. I remembered my first time. It seemed like the houses either side of Number 12 were on moving panels and as they moved, the house appears. First as a stick figure and then it expands outward. It really was an amazing sight.

However, the moment was over rather quickly as we registered how close we were now. Letting go of each other, we drew our wands, praying that we wouldn’t have to use them, and Neville stepped forward and opened the door.

“So far so good.” He muttered, stepping slowly in, Luna and me following close behind and the others flying up towards the ceiling.

“Oh, I should probably warn you that Moody...” I started as Luna closed the door only to be interrupted.

“SNAPE!” Moody’s voice crashed into our ears, causing all three of us on the ground and the three in the air to freeze in place at the intensity before I felt my tongue curl back in my throat.

“W-w-what was...” Neville started only to stop dead as a swift figure surged out of the shadows right at us. Our breathing quickening, we threw our wands up and were about to cast spells that would tell the Ministry that Luna and I have left school grounds due to our magic tracers going off when we froze again. The figure looked like... “Professor Dumbledore?” Neville cried, faltering at the sight of him. Even Luna looked stunned. But I just felt a great surge of relief as I realised what was going on and a moment later, ‘Dumbledore’ had made it not an inch away from us and exploded into dust. “What was that?”

“Moody set up a few surprises in case Snape or any Death Eaters came snooping.” I said, smiling apologetically. “Sorry, I forgot about them. And to be fair, I never knew what they were, past the tongue locker charm.”

“We should probably keep going to calm Harry’s nerves.” Luna commented, taking the lead as Neville worked on his breathing. “If they’re here, they know someone has entered now.

//Way ahead of you.// Jake called, causing me to look up just in time to see a flicker move around a corner.

“FILTHY MUDBLOODS AND BLOOD TRAITORS! TAINTING MY HOME WITH IMPURITY! LEAVE THIS PLACE AT ONCE, I DEMAND IT!”

“Oh shut up, you old hag!” I snapped, kicking the fallen, hollowed out troll leg out of my way as I stomped over to the portrait of Sirius Black’s mother and ripped the curtain shut before she could rant any more about blood purity, effectively shutting her up. I forgot how much I hated that thing. That and the elf heads on pikes along the stairway.

“That looks rather unpleasant.” Luna commented, actually looking put off as she noticed the heads. Neville turned to see what she meant and nearly puked.

//It’s safe to say some pretty horrible people lived in here.// Cassie stated, though from her distance ahead, I doubt she’d heard our conversation. //You’ll have to explain that later.//

//But for now, we’ve found three people here, all tense and one of them has a lightning bolt scar on his head.// Jake called, continuing with business, but still sounding very disturbed. But I’d stopped care about the decor. A lightning bolt scar! He was here.

“Harry!” I shouted excitedly, breaking into a run. All my worries disappeared in an instant, replaced by pure happiness. I hadn’t seen him since my oldest brother’s wedding was attacked. I’d been desperate to see him, to see that he was ok with my own eyes. And now... “Harry, it’s Ginny, Neville and Luna! Where are you?”

“Ginny?” Three voices cried simultaneously, all of them sounding astounded. The room echoed with thumping feet on wooden floor and not a moment later, we were face to face with three of the most important people in my life. It would have been perfect if they weren’t wearing wary expressions and pointing wands our way, startling Neville and bringing all of us to an immediate stop. “Prove it! Why did I break up with you?”

“Because you were scared for my safety.” I answered immediately. I was fully aware of why he was doing this. Polyjuice potion and infiltration had happened too many times before and at the worst times possible. He needed to know I was really me. “You were scared that if You-Know-Who found out about me that he’d use me to get to you. Then I told you that Hermione suggested that I back down a little bit back when I was still trying to get your attention. That by not acting so intense I had a better chance of getting your attention.”

“That’s Ginny.” He sighed, immediately relaxing. Not a second past after he lowered his wand before a I pounced on him, hugging him close.

“When did you find out about my parents?” That struck me cold. I’d been so happy to see him that I hadn’t taken into account that Harry might be an imposter too. Letting him go, I took a step back and sent Neville a sheepish look as he stared hard at Harry, waiting for the answer to his question.

“You thought I found out in fifth year, at Saint Mongos.” Harry started, staring right back. “But I told you later that I’d discovered it in my fourth year from a pensieve in Dumbledore’s office.”

“That’s Harry.” Neville sighed, letting his face relax into a happy smile. “It’s good to see you guys are well. We’ve all been worried about you.”

“We’ve been worrying about you too.” Hermione replied, grinning as she approached Neville and getting pulled into a hug before turning warmly towards Luna.

“But why aren’t you at school?” Harry asked as Ron moved to me, hugging me tight. I never realised how much I loved being hugged by my youngest brother. “What’s happened?”

“A lot.” Neville sighed, shaking Harry’s hand. “But before I say anything else..” He started, looking over Harry’s shoulder. “Turn around and don’t raise your wand. Please trust me.” He added, seeing the frown growing on Harry’s face. Harry watched him warily for a moment, but Ron turned instantly. And threw himself between me and a very shocking body as he screamed.

“Bloody HELL, what is that?” His cry had Harry and Hermione whipping around and crying out instantly, both of them raising their wands as they did. “Ginny, get out of here, get back.” Ron snapped, pushing me back protectively with his arm.

“No, Ron, it’s ok.” I tried, but he wasn’t listening. He’d snapped into his protective big brother mode.

“Ginny go! Look at that thing, it’s clearly really dangerous!” He cried, pushing me back again as Harry and Hermione stepped forward, ready to cast jinxes and curses that promised to be...unpleasant for Ax.

//Don’t harm him.// Only to falter as Jake’s voice reached their heads, startling Ron so much that he jumped and fell off balance. Taking advantage of their surprise, Neville, Luna and I brushed past them and quickly placed ourselves protectively in front of Ax. Right as a large, black and orange blur jumped out from behind a door and landed before us and taking a seat. When it stopped moving, I found myself staring at a beautiful and deadly tiger. //We mean you no harm.//

“Sorry for the display.” Luna said calmly as the Golden Trio stared on incredulously from each of us, their wands shaking in their hands. “But we had to be sure you yourselves weren’t infested and questions wouldn’t work for this one. Shocks work best.”

“We should know, this only happened to us a few hours ago.” Neville added with a small smile. “But I promise you they’re friends. And so is she.” He added, pointing to the hallway as Cassie walked in, offering our wary friends a friendly smile.

“What exactly is going on here!” Hermione shouted frustratedly, her eyes forever darting from one of us to the next, though they landed most frequently on Ax. “How did they get in here? Who are they? What the hell is going on?” Wow, she must have been frustrated. That was the first time I’d ever heard her say hell.

//My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. I am an Andalite.// Ax stated, much like he had when he met us, bowing his head to each of the freaked out teens. //The tiger is my leader, a human boy by the name of Jake. Cassie is another member of our team.//

//And this,// Jake started, already starting to demorph and leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione staring in horrified wonder. //Is a long story.//

....

“This is just...these claims, they...aliens?” Hermione had never looked so flustered in the entire time that I’d known her. Her face was forever warping from disbelief, confusion, doubt, fear, panic and intrigue while her hands had spent a lot of time fiddling and displacing her bushy hair and the rest of it fiddle with each other. It was actually a little comical, though the glare Hermione gave me when I giggled shut me up real quick.

By the time Ax, Jake, Cassie, Neville, Luna and I had finished telling the story, each of us magically gifted sharing what we’d seen and discovered both from the Animorphs and around the school, all three of them were looking as if they’d just been dropped off in the most loony, illogical world in existence. Ron was almost crushing my wrist from where we were sitting on the couch and gaping like a fish with a motor connected to its mouth. His freckles stood out a lot more than usual on his skin and he looked like he was caught between a fried brain and trying, and failing, to come up with a response to the tale. He had no chance of course, and Hermione was flailing just to say a few words and no one can string eloquent words together in an instant like Hermione could. Meanwhile, Harry’s jaw had dropped and his eyes had widened many times throughout the recounting, but around the halfway point, he just froze with both his eyes and jaw wide open, reminding me of a Muggle portrait Hermione had once shown me a picture of called The Scream.

“This just...isn’t possible!” Hermione cried, seeming to pull herself a together, returning to normal. “No science has ever proved that this is even slightly possible without magic! Turning into animals, slugs that can wrap around your brain and control you, aliens with no mouths talking in your head! All without magic! How can any of you believe this?” She cried, turning to me and Neville. She knew full well how Luna could believe it.

“Well, if you went back in time and showed the people of four hundred years ago a working car, they’d claim that’s only possible with the help of magic.” I commented calmly, hiding the smirk I felt growing at that. I did listen when Hermione and Harry went on about Muggle things after all and Dad loves Muggle gadgets. I know some, more than Ron or most pure bloods at least. “And what about the platypus? Originally, people thought that someone just stuck pieces from different animals together because of how weird it looked.”

“And who says Earth is the only planet to have life.” Neville asked, cocking an eyebrow. “What makes Earth so special? There are who knows how many Galaxies and planets out there. Who says there aren’t other places that are hospitable for life?”

//Many planets have life.// Ax stated, startling the Golden Trio again and finally getting Harry to close his mouth. //Though plenty of them would not be hospitable for humans. Some species live with very different atmospheric, chemical, climactic and gravitational needs.//

“Even if that’s so...” Hermione argued, looking at Ax warily. “What are the chances that such unique species and technology would be able to adapt to our planet and come here? Or that they could even develop such an advanced level of technology?”

“We have no magic.” Jake responded patiently, pointing to himself and Cassie. “We were thirteen when we first found an Andalite and were given the power to morph. You saw me morph. Your friends, both in here and outside with our friends have seen the Yeerks, their allies and their slaves themselves, have overheard their conversations. And you saw me morph from a tiger. We came in as bugs on Ginny’s shoulders. Unlike wizards, we can turn into dozens of creatures at will, any one we’ve acquired DNA from, even other humans, which you guys apparently can’t do with a very special and difficult potion. And there’s a creature in this room that clearly is not from Earth. What more proof do you need?”

“You know Hermione, you and I didn’t even believe in magic before we got our Hogwarts letters.” Harry commented, the first thing he’d said since this started, tilting his head to Hermione with a shrug. Ron however, looked just as skeptical as Hermione.

“Prove it.” He demanded, looking at Cassie and Jake challengingly. “Turn into other animals at will, no wands. If you can do two new animals each and a human, I’ll believe you.”

“Fair enough.” Jake shrugged, nodding to Cassie. Getting a shrug in return, they both stood up and walked into a bare part of the room. “Just remember this is disgusting to watch. So, will birds of prey be decent ones to start off with?”

“Fine.” Ron shrugged impatiently, Hermione nodding in agreement. Harry merely shrugged and watched curiously, though he did frown as Neville turned away from them.

Birds turned out to be a rather interesting morph. Both Cassie and Jake immediately started shrinking while the skin on Cassie’s arms sagged out a little and Jake’s mouth and nose fused together, hardening into a beak. It looked like someone had spilled ink down their bodies a moment later, the running lines forming the shapes of feathers before they became three dimensional. Then the first really disgusting thing happened. While Cassie’s arms turned into beautiful wings, making her look similar to an angel, the skin on Jake’s fingers was ripped back, revealing his white bones.

“AUGH!” Ron cried, throwing a hand to his mouth at the same time Hermione screamed and covered her eyes.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Harry gaped, his eyes transfixed to Jake’s hands as feathers grew over the bones as I looked away. The crunching, squishing and sloshing sounds of bones crunching and organs reshaping only made the whole thing worse. And pretty soon, that would be me!

//Morphing is painless. Though you do feel the changes.// Ax informed them.

“A good thing too. The pain would be unbearable if you could feel it.” Neville muttered, still refusing to look. We may have seen and heard it a few times already, but only Luna was unphased. Cassie had told me after they’d morphed Thestrals before leaving Hogwarts that you never really got used to it.

It wasn’t until I heard flapping that I looked up again and saw two large birds flying around the room, one of them black and white while the smaller one was dark brown and white.

“An osprey and a peregrine falcon.” Hermione muttered, watching in awe as they flew.

“Well, that was definitely different from a tiger.” Harry commented, watching them with a look of wonder and...jealousy? Well, he does love flying and they’re doing it on their own wings. I guess he would be jealous. “And that was far too slow and disgusting for an Animagus transformation. I choose to believe all this without watching more transformations right now.”

“Yeah, me too.” Ron nodded as I chuckled at his green face. 

//Bear in mind though that we still have to change back.// Jake called, leaving all the others groaning and me glaring at him. He was far too cheery when he said that. He’s enjoying making us uneasy, the jerk.

“So why did you tell us all this?” Hermione asked hastily, turning from the birds to Ax, me, Neville and Luna in turn. I’m not sure it was because she wanted to stall the disturbing show or because she was trying to get a grasp on the information her mind was slowly forcing her to accept. Probably both. “What do you want us to do about these Yeerks? We’re in enough trouble as it is to add saving the Muggle world to the list and we can’t go back to Hogwarts. Besides, your plan is for them not to know that humans are fighting them for as long as possible, magical or not, so what use could we be to you?”

“First, warning you means you’re far less likely to get infested and end everything for us.” Neville started, nodding to Harry. “Harry in particular would be a prime target to either publically reveal his dead body or use to get the rest of our side infested. This way, you know what’s out there.”

“Then there’s the fact that you can interfere with some Yeerk plans while doing whatever you’re doing.” Luna continued, sounding far more serious than usual and causing them to take everything she said very seriously.

“And there’s the fact that we could use some help from known ‘outlaws’ to help us break into and free the prisoners of Azkaban.” I added, causing all three of them to jump.

“WHAT!” Funny how they all said that in the same tone and pitch and at the same time.

“If you go there and do that, you’ll be outlaws! And that’s assuming you survive an encounter with that many Dementors.” Harry cried loudly, giving each of us a look that said he refused to let that happen. “Being outside of Hogwarts and talking to us alone could get you deemed as outlaws.”

“Oh no, we’re just going to tell everyone that we got lost in the forest trying to find those ‘centipede monsters’.” Neville shrugged casually, completely unphased. “And no one will ever know that we were at Azkaban, not even the people we save. And the Dementors will never be able to kiss us.”

“And how do you manage to pull that one off?” Ron snapped exasperatedly. He was even less thrilled by our plan than Harry. Probably solely because I was involved.

//Because the gift my brother gave to Prince Jake and the others has also been given to the six leaders of the DA.// Ax stated calmly as Jake and Cassie started changing back.

“WHAT?” Ron shouted, turning angrily from Ax to me. Seriously, I’m a more talented fighter than he is, would he stop with the over-protectiveness thing? “How?”

“By placing my hand on a cube and painlessly absorbing the power into my body.” I responded calmly. However, the look I gave him was more than effective on making him shut up.

“Everyone will think a group of Animagus’ broke in to Azkaban, but it’ll be a lot more effective if a few human witches and wizards were there.” Neville informed them, looking at each of them hopefully. “It’s even more convincing if Harry is there, seeing as Sirius Black broke out as a dog. It’ll look like your idea to the Dark Lord. And by freeing the people in there, we save them from two evil armies and divide the attention of both of them while getting more fighters for our side.”

“And if you are willing to help with the Yeerks, we’ll give you three the power to morph too.” Jake finished, turning to each one in turn before everyone, bar Ron and Hermione, who were staring at him in astoundment and hope in Ron’s case, turned to Harry. “But of course, the choice to help and take on the power is yours. We won’t force you into any of this.”

“But the results won’t be pleasant if we don’t.” Harry added knowingly as he stared right back. He’d already made his decision and the others would follow him to ensure that he came out alive. They’re too heroic to look away, something Harry proved as he leaned back into the couch. “Besides, saving a lot of innocent people from Azkaban and gaining the ability to fly myself sounds like too good a deal to pass up. Especially if Voldemort and this new Visser guy go and throw tantrums over it.”

“Well, when you put it that way.” Ron muttered, still leaning close to me. He wasn’t going to let me out of his sight until I left for school again.

“Well...If this does all prove to be real, then I’m sure it’ll prove quite fascinating.” Hermione sighed, rubbing her temples. What did I tell you? A unanimous yes.

“Great. Then let’s go.” Jake smiled, nodding toward the front door. “Tobias will have already gone to tell a couple friends of ours the plan and to get us the transportation we need and we have to make one more stop before we go to the prison. The Hogwarts group all need some non-magical combat morphs to be powerful and convincing.”

“We should make one more on the way.” Harry said, earning a curious look from Jake and Cassie. Actually, from everyone in the room except for Hermione, who seemed to know what he was gonna say.

//And where would this place be?// It turned out Ax was the one to vocalize everyone else’s question.

“To Ollivander’s.” Was Harry’s response, his eyes hardening with a bit of self-directed irritation. “I don’t like the idea of stealing from him, but Voldemort took him ages ago and his shop is full of wands. Which every witch and wizard we save is going to need.”

Well, a nod from an equally troubled looking Jake settled it. Two more stops and then it was off to Azkaban. Where we’ll strike the first real blow we give both to the Yeerks and Voldemort. At the same time.

You tyrants want a fight? Fine. We’ll give you more than you can handle.


	15. Marco

My name is Marco.

While it was good to know this little trip worked out well, if anyone tried to recruit even one more person, I was going to take the cube and run away in the fastest morph I’ve got. A fact that I made clear to Jake with a mere look as he finally reappeared on the street with the others and three more people, all of the newest three looking unsure and monitoring the area with a look of paranoia comparable to our group. Jake just nodded in return. We’d gained ten, and one of them was accidental. There would be no more.

“Are you guys coming or are you planning to stand there all night?” I called, instantly grabbing the new three’s attention and spurring them into action, actually following Jake and the others. Though now they were looking at me really suspiciously. Maybe annoyedly too, it was dark, I couldn’t be sure.

“They always were a paranoid bunch.” Seamus muttered beside me, grinning at them and waving happily. “I guess in these times, they would have gotten a lot worse. Actually learned caution in the boys’ cases.”

“They weren’t cautious before?” Rachel asked curiously, looking them over as they got close. I wasn’t sure what she thought of them yet, but then, she didn’t know much. She just liked that they were gutsy.

Seamus startled the coming group as he laughed loudly in response. With the way he was holding his sides and struggling to breathe through it, you’d think Rachel had just said the world’s funniest joke. “Them? Cautious? Please, you’re killing me! Hermione is, but the boys...they’re both impulsive, Ron jumps to conclusions and Harry jumps into the deep end without the slightest glance for the sharks it holds. Caution was always a foreign word to them.”

“Just like tact was to you.” The black haired boy stated dryly, grinning a moment later as he clasped Seamus’ hand. “It’s good to see you, Seamus.”

“Oh, the pleasure’s all mine, my great Chosen One.” Seamus smirked, pulling Harry into a one armed hug before turning back to me and Rachel. “This is Harry Potter. The other boy is Ginny’s brother, Ron and obviously, the beautiful lady is Hermione Granger. And guys, this is Marco and Rachel. I believe you already know MacMillan and Goldstein.” He said, speaking in a mock snooty voice the whole way through.

“Nice to meet you.” Harry smiled before turning to the other wizards. “Ernie, strangely enough, I’m not surprised that you’re a leader of the DA. Keeping everyone in line?” He asked, clasping hands in a firm shake as Ernie smiled proudly.

“Yeah, and keeping them working hard too. No one pushes them harder than me.”

“But why’s Goldstein one of you?” Ron asked bluntly, making the blond in question visibly flinch. “Not that I have a problem with it or anything.” He quickly amended as Hermione glared at him. Now that’s amusing, it was a lot like me and Rachel, though she clearly threatens me with bodily harm before I reselect my words. Mental note; witch with Rachel-level temper. Tread carefully, she’s scary. “It’s just, he’s not really the kind of person to take up public speaking or having anything close to that kind of attention. I mean, you never even looked too comfortable with your Prefect role, mate.” He added, smiling apologetically at Anthony.

“But he is still a very talented wizard. He could do it if he had to.” Hermione snapped defensively, earning her a blush from Anthony at the compliment.

“I’m Seamus’ new partner.” Anthony broke in, though he didn’t have nearly as much passion in his voice as the others did. It was pretty hard to hear him unless you were close. “I work as a medic and on stealth missions.”

“And he’s good.” Seamus stated, almost challengingly as moved closer to the Ravenclaw. “Extremely observant, eyes and ears like a hawk and very forceful when he needs you to see common sense. Trust me, I know.”

“Not to mention he came up with a plan that had the Death Eaters freaking out about a lousy study session when we needed them distracted.” Ernie added heatedly, daring Ron to say anything. “Shy and nervous, yes, but he’s absolutely brilliant.”

“And if you guys compliment him any more, he might spontaneously combust.” Harry commented lightly, smiling at the flaming red covering Anthony’s face and ears. I think it was even creeping down his neck. “Nice to see you again too, Goldstein.” He added with a friendly smile.

“You too, Potter.” He muttered, keeping his eyes firmly planted on the ground.

“Well great, now that greetings, hugs and kisses have been passed all around, can we get down to business?” I asked insistently, giving each them a raised eyebrow. I mean, it’s not like we didn’t have a time limit or anything.

“Right. Harry, Ron, Hermione, if you could step up to Rachel?” Jake asked, guiding everyone back into the alley. Going back to our pile of clothes Rachel grabbed the cube and held it up, bathing the confused, slightly nervous trio’s faces in a pale blue glow.

“So how exactly does this work?” Hermione asked hesitantly, keeping herself a good foot away from the cube. Seamus told me that she was born to non-magical parents and was the high intellectual type, so I guess that she would have right to be a little nervous. Most comic books and movies depicting people gaining super powers involves a source that should kill you.

//You merely place your hand flat on one side of it. It will not harm you.// Ax said simply from his place in the darkest part of the alley. He’d had to come out of the secret house in morph and the darkness was the only way to ensure no one who passed by didn’t see him return to his true form.

“We all did it and we’re fine.” Neville stated as they continued only to stare at the cube. Seriously, this was unnecessarily long and annoying. And no, don’t bother bringing up how hesitant I was when I was offered the power, I don’t care that I’m being a hypocrite. “Just go for it. It tingles, nothing more.”

That seemed to be enough for Harry. His face set hard, he took a deep breath and placed his palm right on the cube.

“How is it, Harry?” Ron asked, a nervous tremor in his voice, as he watched on in fascination.

“It does tingle. Other than that, I don’t feel anything.” He replied simply, not turning away from the cube. Neither Ron or Hermione made any move to touch it themselves though.

“Would you two just do it already!” Ginny snapped, startling everyone with her outburst. Obviously, she was feeling even more impatient than me and when the two only continued to stare, startled, she walked up, grabbed her brother’s hand and forced it up to the box.

“Hey! Ginny, what do you think-”

“Shut up and touch it!” Ginny snapped, successfully slapping his hand onto a cube face. All of Ron’s sputtering died as he felt the power flooding into him. In fact, he actually looked like he was enjoying the moment.

“We are all fine, Hermione. The Muggles don’t even show signs of illness.” Luna said softly, coming up to the still hesitant girl. Gently, she too took the hand of the hesitant and slowly guided it to the cube. “We have not used the power yet, but I think it will be a wonderful thing. To feel what other animals feel and experience their instincts. Imagine all you could learn from the experiences. Wouldn’t it be fascinating?”

“Yes.” Hermione muttered softly, not resisting as her hand met the cube and flattened against it. “I suppose it will be.”

I turned to smirk at Cassie at that and it wasn’t lost on her either. Luna had pulled an act of manipulation worthy of Cassie herself, using Hermione’s thirst for knowledge to our advantage. And that wasn’t the first similarity we’d noticed between the Hogwarts Animorphs and us. Neville was the same type of leader as Jake, bold, righteous, but willing to embrace everyone’s opinions. Ginny had a fierceness to her that was quite similar to Rachel. Seamus was a bit mischievous, like me. And Ernie had a fierce loyalty, like Ax. I wasn’t sure just how similar Anthony was to Tobias, he was far too shy and rarely spoke to get a firm grip on him, but we did seem to create a team that was similar to us in personality. It gave me some comfort, reassuring me that we chose the right people.

A few moments later Rachel lowered the cube, disconnecting the Golden Trio, and wrapped it back up in our clothes. Harry and the others just stood there a moment, staring at their hands, seeming unsure that anything was different, but they let their confusion go as they looked up to find Jake and Cassie smiling at them.

“Welcome to the ‘you’re crazier than catfish’ club.” I smirked at each one of them in turn. “As in, we’re insane enough to think that a small group of teenagers actually stand a chance against a world conquering army of mind controlling parasites.”

“Eh, it’s no more crazy than a group of undertrained teenagers thinking that they can stand a chance against a full grown army of experienced Death Eaters.” Ernie shrugged nonchalantly. “But we’ll make it happen anyway.”

“Fair enough.”

“So, shall we get going?” Cassie asked before frowning as she took in our numbers. “Hmm, we’ll have to double up this time.”

“For what?” Hermione asked, turning to us questioningly.

“Thestral flying.” I answered with a shrug. It wasn’t like Thestrals weren’t the size of warhorses or anything. We could easily take more weight. “Using spells and teleportation around Ginny and Luna apparently sets off tracers, so we have to travel by wings and no wizard has acquired a single morph yet. Plus, Tobias is elsewhere, so we only have five fliers and nine passengers.”

“Well then, how about Harry, and I just apparate with Ron to the Zoo?” Hermione suggested, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “The tracers will only go off if magic is used within a few meters of the people bearing them. We’ll just wait until you take off and apparate there.”

“Ok, meet us in the open area closest to the main entrance.” Jake shrugged before starting to morph. “We’ll see you there.”

Ok, whatever, I couldn’t really care less about how we all got to the zoo. Not that Harry, Ron and Hermione really needed to go there right now anyway considering that they wouldn’t be morphing for this mission. Shrugging myself, I just concentrated on the freaky, winged horse again and laughed as the first change was bat-like wings ripping out of my back. I bet I looked pretty evil.

“Hey, check me out, I’m like a vampire! Mwahahaha!"

....

The London zoo turned out to be...a zoo. Well, I suppose that’s pretty normal and most people wouldn’t think of it as dull, it was pretty impressive looking with the perfect habitats for each animal. I’m just bias. Back at home, our zoo, The Gardens, doubles as an amusement park, complete with water slides, roller coasters, you name it, they have it.

//No animal would feel out of place here.// Rachel commented, looking around the area, sounding very impressed. //It looks almost as impressive as The Gardens and the air’s clean around it. Considering this is in a major city like London, it’s amazing how natural it all looks.//

//I’ll say. They’ve got a pretty good collection of animals too.// Cassie agreed, really pleased with it, as all tree huggers would be. //You guys could get some really good morphs here.// She added to our riders.

“You’ll have to help us pick though.” Ernie called from my back, getting nods from Ginny and Neville. Looking back, I found that the Ravenclaws were paying more attention to the animals than the conversation while Seamus, also sitting on me, the lucky guy to get two passengers, just shrugged. “I know of a lot of non-magical animals around Scotland and the surrounding countries, but I don’t know a great deal about any of them.”

//Don’t worry about that.// I replied cheerily. // Cassie’s the daughter of two vets and is a world class tree hugger. If it breathes without magic, she knows about it.//

//Prince Jake, I have found Harry Potter and his friends.// Ax interrupted, startling Neville into crying out as he made a sharp turn left towards the main building. //But I have also spotted a number of security personnel patrolling the area.//

//Ok, then you and I will drop everyone off and return to the sky.// Jake decided, already following Ax to the three people standing near a few bushes, ready to hide if need be. //Thestral eyes are pretty good in the dark, so we’ll watch out for security and warn the rest of you when they’re coming to close.//

“Sounds like a plan.” Ginny agreed as my hooves hit the ground, right after Jake’s and right before Cassie and Rachel’s. Neville and the others quickly jumped off our backs and the girls and I demorphed as quickly as we could while Jake and Ax resumed flying, ensuring us that we were safe for a good five minutes, at least.

“So what do you guys think we should pick?” Neville asked, handing me our bundle of clothes and the blue box as soon as I finished demorphing. I just as quickly set it down and fished out my shoes before handing Rachel and Cassie theirs.

“That depends. What kind of shape does Azkaban have? What’s the layout?” Cassie asked as we headed down the left path, away from all the guards we’d seen in the sky.

“A huge, rectangular tower-like structure.” Hermione answered immediately in a very informative tone, as if it was right out of a textbook. “Made entirely of stone and metal, ten floors, plus a basement and a rooftop with lookout posts at each corner. The basement and each floor each sport fifty cells with varying numbers of Dementors inhabiting them, depending on the level of security given to each floor, the fifth and sixth floors being maximum security. Aurors stay in the outposts on the roof, shielded from the Dementors and monitor activity. The prison is built on a rocky island and is surrounded by a very turbulent sea filled with more sharp rocks.”

“Ok, so no more than one with cow-like body structures to prevent stair related issues, creatures with good endurance would be better, maneuverability would be really useful, but we don’t have to worry too much about weight and bulk if it’s large and made of stone and metal. I think animals of mountain terrains would be best.”

“But if every animal to show up at Azkaban preferred mountain terrains, it might be suspicious.” Anthony muttered, looking a little apologetic as he focused on Cassie. “The animal forms gained from Animagus transformations is only intentionally chosen when you’re going for the animal you most associate with. For example, if Ginny was to become an Animagus, she would transform into a horse, because that is the animal she most associates with. The Patronus charm works on the same principle. The only time the two result differently is when you become an Animagus and then something happens to change you enough so that you are best associated with another animal. Your transformation stays the same, but your Patronus changes.”

“So we’ll also throw in one or two other creatures that provide more power. With us there too, it won’t be a problem.” Rachel shrugged.

//Guys, make a left at the next turn. It’ll keep you clear of the guard.// Jake called, immediately changing our direction. Following the path, we ended up entering the reptile house.

“Great. I hope it’s still clear.” I muttered, as we walked in. Jake and Ax wouldn’t be able to see inside, if someone had been hanging out with the scale society...well, we’d have to run.

Fortunately, it was devoid of human life, or much of anything conscious. A few snakes were moving around here and there as we walked down the path, hissing at us from their habitats, but for the most part, they were all still. But, considering reptiles don’t tend to have eyelids, it was still pretty freaky, walking through a dark hallway with eyes staring at you the whole time. The others didn’t look to thrilled to be there either and everyone looked relieved to have left reptile land. Or thought we did.

“They look deadly.” Ginny muttered as we reached a fence blocking our path from a pond surrounded by small, grass fields. Lounging around in the water, with only its head resting above the surface was a creature that could send chills down your spine just by looking at you.

“Alligators.” Cassie muttered as Rachel shuddered. “Huge jaws capable of ripping prey to pieces, long, sharp claws, decently fast on land, much faster in the water and covered with scales so hard that even a bear has a great deal of difficulty so much as scratching it.”

“And we know that from experience.” Rachel mumbled, staring at the creature with open disdain. “That is the one powerhouse on the planet I really don’t like.”

“Only because its DNA clashed with yours and almost killed us all on live TV. Not like it was anything major.” I grinned, getting a glare in return before turning to our older, taller, magical, oh, and did I mention taller, friends. Like I didn’t have a size inferiority complex before we started associating with people one and two years older than me! At least the younger girls were only my height. “So, anyone up for their first DNA sample?”

“You want one of us to touch that thing?” Ron cried, looking at me like he thought I could just jump off a cliff. “It’ll rip our arms off!”

“Hey, if it does, then when you morph, they’ll grow back.” I shrugged, my form looking thoroughly uncaring. “Besides, you’re at risk of that no matter what animal you acquire. If it’s worth using against the Yeerks in battle, and your Moldy guy too I guess, then it’s just as dangerous for you to go near one.”

“Look at us, we do this all the time.” Rachel agreed, keeping her back pointed squarely at the habitat as she spoke to the nervous looking wizards. “We’ve all touched a wolf, a shark and either a rhino or an elephant. Marco’s shaken hands with a gorilla and I’ve stood down a grizzly bear.

“And Jake sat on a tiger.” I chuckled, remembering that first trip to The Gardens. That was horrifying at the time, but now, I’ve learned to see the humour of the tiger’s sleepy face looking up to see just who’s big butt was using him as a couch. “Rachel’s even grabbed one of these guy’s cousins by the tail and we’ve been doing it for over a year. We were thirteen when we started this close and personal thing with the super beasts. Why can’t you do it?”

“It could be tricky.” Ernie muttered, shifting gaze back and forth from the five alligators to Luna and Ginny. “There’s a lot of them and with two underage witches here, we can’t use our magic. How do you stop them from killing you when you acquire them anyway?” He asked, running a hand nervously through his hair.

“Nine times out of ten, when you acquire an animal, it goes into a trance that lasts until ten seconds after you break the physical connection.”

“Only nine out of ten?” Seamus gulped, taking a decisive step back from the reptiles. “If those guys are the one, then whoever goes in will have five giant mouths ripping him apart.”

“If none of you want to acquire an alligator, you don’t have to.” Cassie said reassuringly as I rolled my eyes.

“But if you’re going to be like this at every habitat then this was a waste of all our time.” Rachel continued as I nodded in agreement.

“I’ll acquire one.” Luna said calmly, stepping up to the high fence before anyone else could respond, stunning Ron, Anthony and Seamus. “But I might need some help. I don’t know any Muggle techniques for keeping reptiles away.”

“There are none.” Hermione muttered before her nervous face hardened and she strode right up beside Luna, Harry and Neville right behind her. “But we can come and help distract the others while you acquire one.”

“I think I’ll take one myself.” Harry nodded in agreement, turning back to me. “Just to make sure I got this right, I touch it with my bare hand and concentrate on its form. That’s it to acquire it, right?”

“Yep. That’s all it takes.” I nodded with a smirk. Maybe there was hope for these guys after all.

Luna had done it again. The others needed the push and her decision to jump in proved to be just that. Three of the others were inspired enough to help out instantly. Hopefully, the other five would come around after Luna’s success.

“Let’s do this.” Neville muttered, pale, but determined as he hopped on and over the fence. Cassie, Harry, Luna and Hermione went right behind him while I started morphing gorilla. There was no way they would be able to climb up the fence when they were done at all, let alone in time to avoid those killing machines, so I thought it was best that I get ready to help out.

As black fur and muscles grew all over my body, I watched with weakening eyes as they approached the water. It was obvious that the alligators had noticed their presence and were coming in as Luna stepped close to the water’s edge.

“Stay a good foot away from it and be ready to jump back.” Cassie warned as Harry and Neville followed suit, Hermione opting to grab a thick branch that had fallen from one of the few trees in the habitat before standing a few steps behind them. “Once it thinks its target is in range, its jaw will snap open and it will shoot up like lightning. You want to grab it the instant its mouth closes and try to keep its mouth shut while you acquire it. Same thing with distracting, if you can keep its mouth shut and pointed at you, you should be-”

She didn’t finish though, for at that moment, one reptile got bored and, with speed I could barely follow, surged up, its huge, deadly jaw heading right for Neville’s head.

“AAHHHH!” Not ready and thoroughly terrified, Neville barely managed to stumble back, the gator’s teeth missing his nose by inches. Which would have still been ok, but he stumbled onto the bottom of his robes and fell to the ground, the alligator following and pinning him there.

“NEVILLE!” Harry screamed, jumping back from his own snapping gator to find a third one joining the original. Fortunately, it got distracted before it could bite off his foot as Hermione’s branch came down on its mouth with very impressive smack.

“Don’t stand there, do something! Ron cried, whipping around and throwing his hands up at me, panic flooding his face.

//Like what?// I snapped, raising my own arms in a ‘look at me’ fashion. I was still a half morphed mess. They had better chances surviving right at that moment than I did. Growling, he just turned back to the conflict in a cross between fear and anger.

Fortunately, Neville had the right idea. The alligator’s constant thrashing suddenly came to an immediate halt as he closed his eyes, his face expression a terrified determination.

“Got it!” He cried shakily, his arms following its lead as they held up the very heavy munch monster. “Now can someone help me up?”

“Sorry, a little busy right now, Nev.” Hermione grunted batting away at her alligator like a barbarian as she backed away. She was irritating it, that was for sure, but she wasn’t going to do much more without going for the eyes and she wasn’t going to do that. Looking around again, I found Cassie weaving back and forth, successfully leading one in circles safely away from the others while Harry was quickly getting backed up toward the fence as his attacker continuously snapped at him, peddling forward on short legs that really had no right to be moving so fast.

Luna on the other hand, was actually happy and content. She’d managed to put her gator into a trance while I wasn’t looking and was now rubbing her hand along its back like it was a cat, smiling dreamily at the others. She really was something else.

“Cassie’s scaled buddy’s noticed Neville’s trapped and not being eaten.” Rachel shouted, drawing me back to the actual conflict to find that Cassie was failing to hold her gator’s attention any longer and Harry was two feet from the wall. To make it worse, somehow Hermione was getting driven towards the water. If she ended up there, her only options would be magic or a very gory death.

“That’s it!” Seamus snapped just as I’d finally finished my morph. Turning back to the others, the gorilla’s equivalent of a shocked smile crossed my face as Seamus, Ron, Ernie and Ginny all charged right at the fence and over it, battle cries flying from their lips as their bodies flew either beside or on a gator. Ginny sat on the back of the one attacking Harry and wrapped her legs tightly around its neck so that its snapping mouth could only open halfway. The shock of it all left the gator distracted and gave Harry all the time he needed to place his hand on it and acquire it, calming it instantly.

Seamus rolled right beside the one charging at Neville and planted both feet into its side as hard as he could, the unexpected action and the gator’s footing succeeding in knocking it off balance while Ernie helped push Neville’s original attacker off of him before all three pulled each other to their feet and ran right back toward us at the same time I reached my hands out for Harry and Ginny and hauled them back up to the safety of the footpath, Luna following quite happily after them.

Ron had actually gone on to tackle the last gator right before it could push Hermione into the water. He ended up in a tangled mess, but proving that he could be a quick thinker, he apparated before they’d even stopped rolling and appeared with a pop back by the reptile house. They must have been far enough from Luna and Ginny now because Hermione grabbed Cassie as she ran up to her and followed suit, appearing right next to her redheaded friend with Cassie looking very uncomfortable.

“That was like being sucked through a straw half your body’s width.” She cried, rolling her limbs as I pulled the last of the others up mere seconds before the nearest gator snapped back to reality.

“That was nuts!” Hermione cried, still clutching her stick to her chest with white knuckles as they came back to us. “And you guys do this every time you need a new morph?” She went on, staring at us as if we were crazy while I started demorphing.

“Well, usually we acquire animals used to being handled, or only one at a time, but yeah.” Rachel shrugged before turning to each of the gator fighters with a large smile. “But I am so proud of you. Now that’s the kind of kick butt, disregard for danger attitude you’ll need to fight the Yeerks with. And now three of you can become them.”

“Only you’ll be even more dangerous.” Cassie nodded, calming herself down. “You’ll have their bodies, their instincts and human minds.”

“That was mental!” Ron yelled, sucking deep breaths in and out. “To do that without magic...”

//You guys need to get moving! You’ve been too loud!// Jake shouted, effectively cutting Ron off with his own mild panic. //You have two guards coming fast from the other side of the reptile house.//

“I’ll take care of it.” Anthony muttered, quickly turning into a run back the way we came. “Just make sure that I can find you.” He called back before disappearing within.

“What’s he planning to do?” Rachel asked, looking ready to go after him, only for Cassie and Ginny to herd her in the other direction. “He’s told that’s where they’re coming from and he heads for them? What’s he thinking?”

“That he’s a charms master and can make them forget they ever heard a thing.” Luna said airily, immediately soothing Rachel.

“As long as he has enough distance from us so as to not set off our tracers.” Ginny added, letting Rachel go as she continued on under her own power.

“I think he’s trying to make up for before.” Cassie muttered, turning back sympathetically to watch as Anthony disappeared into the shadows. “He was the only one of you not to jump in and help. He probably feels pretty upset with himself. He sure looked dejected.”

“He’ll get over it when he pulls our butts out of the fire. Or again, in my case.” Seamus shrugged, though he stilled looked a little concerned before pressing on. “And speaking of morphs, what should we go for next? Presenting ourselves as chew toys for a pride of lions maybe?”

“Um, no!” Hermione stated with an air of finality. “I vote for going for something fairly harmless and working our way back up to our demise.”

“Did you have something in mind?” I asked, not quite managing to hold back all my attitude and getting warning looks from both Cassie and Rachel, strangely enough. It wasn’t that I didn’t see her point. They’d just done their first really dangerous thing without magic ever and almost ended up reptile chow. I would have preferred something less dangerous for my first morph than a gorilla and five alligators was a lot more dangerous. They probably would benefit from adjusting to touching less dangerous creatures and working their way up. The problem was that the Hogwarts group could only be out of school for so long before people got suspicious. It was probably far too late for that already and the longer they were missing, the worse it would be when they returned. We had to be quick.

“I was thinking about going in there.” Hermione responded slightly snippily as she pointed to an aquatic habitat with walls of thick glass on three sides and a waterfall at the back. Growing curious, I walked over to a podium and saw the word otter clearly engraved in a metal plaque.

“Why an otter?” I asked, letting my attitude slide as genuine curiosity took over. Hermione struck me as a very focused individual who, in this situation, would keep her eye on the prize and go for useful animals. Not that otters weren’t cool or useless or anything, it was just that their skills had a very specific set of scenarios.

“Because my Patronus is an otter.” She admitted, suddenly turning a little sheepish, but heading up the habitat regardless. “I really want to experience one.”

“Then go for it.” Cassie smiled encouragingly, moving up beside her. “Though I don’t know how you’d get your hand on one, unless you jump in and they decide to play with you instead of sleeping.” She added with a slight frown.

“No problem, Luna and I will go see Anthony. He shouldn’t be too far behind.” Ginny shrugged, grabbing her fellow Hogwarts girl and heading back to where we could see Anthony approaching.

“Perfect.” Hermione grinned, instantly catching on and pulling out her wand. She waited just long enough for the other witches to get out of range before aiming her wand at a sleeping ball of fur and moving it into a swish and flick movement. “Winguardium Leviosa!”

“Oh, wow, cool!” I grinned as I watched on. The little otter had started floating the second Hermione finished chanting, slowly and gently rising into the air before floating along towards her. It only took a minute for it to reach her and land softly in her arms. The contact with her skin did bring it into a startled awakening, but Hermione acted fast and started acquiring it, instantly settling it back down.

“You really are a beautiful creature.” She muttered with a fond smile, gently petting its fur. “I have a feeling that I am go to very much enjoy turning into one of you.” She held onto it for a few more seconds before conceding to our schedule and gently letting go into the water that snapped the energetic little guy right out of his daze and had him swimming away.

“You looked quite motherly with that little one, Hermione.” Ernie commented happily, getting a light hearted shrug from her in return.

“What can I say? Otters are such sweet, little things.”

“But not the best animal for our mission.” Rachel mentioned, albeit hesitantly as the missing three rejoined us. “So if we are going to play with the more gentle creatures before going after your much needed firepower, we need to hurry this up.”

“Very true.” Neville nodded, growing very firm. “I say we go on with the smaller creatures, but as soon as we come across another useful one for tonight, even if it’s the next habitat, we go for it. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” We all said simultaneously.

....

The next one we entered turned out to be full of deer. Harry took one look at a stag and practically flew after it, scaring it so much that the dangerous antlers almost gutted him. But it all turned out good. Apparently this zoo had the different continent exhibits thinly separated, because not long after, we took a right, as advised by Ax, and found ourselves staring at a simply huge, common Warthog from Africa. Strangely enough, that got Ernie going. The guy waited just long enough to know that they were asleep before jumping into the habitat and slowly creeping up to the biggest, ugliest pig of the lot. The overgrown sausage machine did start to stir as he got close, but the acquiring trance knocked it right back out and Ernie came back to the group with a smug look on his face, completely unperturbed as Seamus, Ginny and I took turns teasing him about his choices and the close resemblance to a pig he already had.

“Meh, my Patronus is a boar. I accepted it long ago.” He just shrugged as we moved on, Cassie informing us that they were actually fairly dangerous anyway.

Ginny decided to go small and simple for her first attempt at acquiring DNA and chose a possum that happened to be hanging out on a park bench. It took a little help from Cassie to catch it, but it was a simple one, nothing worth teasing or mentioning again. The same held true for Seamus’ DNA sample, a fox he snagged while it was snooping around for a meal.

It was at an exhibit two animals away from the bench however, that the next moment worth remembering occurred. Anthony pulled us to a halt. Right in front of a pack of decently large carnivores.

“The sign says painted wolves.” He muttered as he turned to Cassie, fixing her with by far the most intense look I’d ever seen on his face. “They look strong. What do you know about them?”

“That they’re a lot like their bigger, grey cousins.” Cassie responded immediately. “Intelligent pack animals that hunt in groups and should never be taken lightly. High senses of smell and hearing. You want to acquire one?”

“Yes.” He nodded, jumping up on the ledge. I guess Cassie was right. He was showing all the signs of a sense of inferiority and a need to prove himself. Against his better, highly attuned, judgment apparently. He was set to jump into a vicious wolf pack alone.

“Then we better help you.” Rachel shrugged, moving to step onto the ledge with him.

“No!” He snapped shocking everyone still with, from what I could tell both from what I’d seen and from his friends’ reactions, a very uncharacteristic intensity. “Just make sure Ginny and Luna stay back so I’m free to cast shield and freezing charms. I...I need to do this on my own.”


	16. Anthony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please bear in mind that I have no idea how the London zoo actually looks or what animals it holds. This zoo is as completely AU as the rest of this reality.

My name is Anthony.

I knew that I was being silly. I wasn’t a rash Gryffindor, I didn’t have it in me to be successful at their kind of courageous, spontaneous acts. But here I was, demanding to be left alone and about to jump into a pack of twelve large predators. That’s more mouths to avoid than the alligators’.

I knew I was being stupid. As a Ravenclaw, I quickly recognised stupidity when I saw it and up until now, I’d always strived to avoid it. But that had handicapped me. Stupidity and courage were very often connected and so I’d associated them together, leaving me in a place far from both and turning into a coward. I refused to do that anymore, be that anymore! I volunteered to help Seamus last night because I wanted to learn to be brave, to help the others, everyone in every way I could. And I still froze up at the gator fiasco. The idea of dealing with such danger, and without my magic, left me too scared to help my friends when they really needed it. I couldn’t let that happen again, especially tonight. I had to get over my hindrance and if that meant doing something stupid, then for once in my life I was going to do something stupid.

“Anthony, you don’t have-”

“Yes, I do.” I interrupted, staring hard for a moment as Seamus tried to pull me down.

“You don’t have to prove yourself to us, you know?” He tried again, getting nods from Ginny, Neville and Ernie.

“Even if that’s true, I need to prove something to myself.” I shook my head, getting a sigh as he slowly, reluctantly, let go of me. He is a Gryffindor. Most of the others were. They knew what I meant. Like I said before, this was an act of their nature.

“I’m covering you.” Seamus declared, pulling out his wand as he motioned for Ginny and Luna to get a good distance away.

“And that’s final!” Neville added before I could complain as Ernie nodded firmly, both of them and Hermione pulling their wands out too.

“Alright.” I sighed, conceding defeat. It’s not like anything I’d say would change their minds anyway, this was as good as I was going to get. So, I just took a deep breath and sat down on the high fence with my feet dangling into the habitat, ready to drop in.

“Don’t stare directly into their eyes.” Cassie warned me right before I pushed off, calling down as I dropped on all fours ten feet below. “That’s seen as an aggressive challenge, it’ll only make things more difficult.”

“Got-whoa!” I cried, breaking off my sentence as a black, brown and white blur leapt right at me from some tall grass. It was only due to me noticing at a couple seconds before it leapt that I managed to drop and roll out of its way, but it still ripping right through my sleeve and produce a bloody wound on my arm. That stung like hell.

“Anthony!”

“Protego!” I cried instinctively in response. The act saved my life, for at that moment, two more wolves I’d missed followed their friend, both aiming for my neck and torso. Fortunately, my spell was strong enough to result in them bouncing back, but what was amazing was that it broke in the process. It would have had me gaping if my adrenaline and fear for my life hadn’t kicked in. Though the spell was more prepared for deflecting magic, the kind of physical force they’d have to have, even if it took two of them to do it, was pretty impressive.

Seeing all three were already back up and moving in on me again, I threw myself back to my feet and leaned against the habitat wall, instinctively trying to limit their attack angles, but I knew even as I did it that it wouldn’t help much, nor would the recast shield spell. These three were fast, stronger than I expected and were moving in a well practiced pattern. I could barely keep up with their movements. And to make it worse, the other nine members of the pack had noticed the commotion.

“Don’t worry about them, we’ve got them.” Neville called down. He must of seen me look or heard me gulp, but I didn’t care, I was just happy to see flashes of light flying over my head in quick succession, quickly immobilising the rest of the pack and leaving me with only the three attacking me. Which was good, because I had to run constantly from them, putting up a new shield spell every few seconds.

“Note to self, never be this stupid again unless lives depend on it.” I cried, gasping as one painted wolf slammed into my shield while another ran around me, cutting me off before pouncing right for my throat.

“AAHH!” Relying solely on instinct, I dropped to my knees and ducked my head, limiting the damage only to a scratch on my left shoulder blade, but that left the painted wolf free to crash with the inside of my shield and rebound, destroying it as it fell crashed into my side and knocked me down, one of its claws digging into my arm.

“AARRGGHH!” Screaming in pain, my reflexes tried to kick in and knock it away, but I had to fight the urge down. It would only get up and be back on top of me in a much better position and with its friends not two seconds later. So instead, I fought to ignore the pain and did the smart thing; grabbed it with my left hand and concentrated on its form while simultaneously raising my injured arm to point my wand at others set to strike, praying that multitasking and the waves of pain going up my arm wouldn’t weaken the effects of either action. “Immobulus!”

The sheer joy I felt a few seconds later almost made me forget the pain coursing up my arm as a white, lightning fast flash burst from my wand and struck both wolves, their bodies relaxing from their crouch forms before slowly falling to the ground, stunned looks covering their faces, their jaws sagging open. At the same time, I felt a warm tingling sensation in my hand and the third wolf relaxing, letting me know that I was succeeding in acquiring him.

“I got it. Can someone help me out now?” I called up to the others haggardly. I suddenly felt very exhausted, a sign that the adrenaline had run its course. My bed sounded like paradise right now.

“I got you, pal.” Ernie called down, already pointing his wand at me. The next thing I knew, I was already halfway up and out of the habitat, the painted wolf that I’d been partially under flopping into the dirt below me.

“Thank you.” I said gratefully as he set me down at their feet, letting myself settle in into a sitting position and leaning back against the wall as I caught my breath. Well, stupid thing done, though I wasn’t sure if it qualified as brave. But at that moment I didn’t care. I felt more assured that I could do it again at Azkaban. After all, how much worse could Dementors be to an animal? I knew the answer to that was terrifying though, so I stopped myself before my brain would dig it up.

I was barely there for a second before a panicked Cassie had jumped me and the next thing I knew, my robes had pooled behind my back and she was inspecting my very sore arm.  
“How many places were you hurt?” She asked immediately, the others crowding around as she moved to the buttons of my shirt and pulled me forward, removing the fabric before I even registered it again and checking the wound on my shoulder blade.

“Ok, just so my pants don’t disappear too, there are no injuries on my legs.” I muttered, flushing embarrassedly. It was really disconcerting being stripped by a girl in public, especially since I wasn’t used to anyone outside my dorm mates ever being present when I wasn’t fully dressed.

“We need to get them dealt with quickly, or they’re going to get infected.” Cassie stated, turning up to Harry, the nearest person to her. “Can you find me some clear water?”

//Cassie? He’s a wizard and he’ll be morphing before this night is over.// Jake said calmly, startling everyone around me as what sounded like hooves hitting the ground followed his voice. //They’ll heal up good as new, you don’t need to panic.//

“Oh, right.” She smiled sheepishly, giving me so space. “Sorry, I got carried away.”

“No problem.” I grunted, pointing my wand to my injured arm with my left hand. “Episkey! Tergeo!” The spells made quick work, the gash on my arm sealing almost completely and the freed blood removing itself from my skin. Sighing in relief, I switched hands and placed the tip of my wand to my shoulder blade and then to the small slash on my other arm, repeating the process and getting perfectly healed results. I didn’t know how to repair my clothes, but Padma had a passion for clothes designing, she could fix them good as new when I got back to school, so I just shrugged them hastily back on before looking up to a weird, disturbing and intriguing sight.

“That only makes this morphing thing weirder.” Ron muttered, getting a grunt of agreement from Seamus as they watched Ax and Jake demorph. It was weird because we still couldn’t see any part of them that was Thestral, so the human parts of them, like Jake’s hand and ears and Ax’ tail and humanoid torso, seemed to be floating around in mid air, drawing closer to each other as more body parts appeared in between or around them.

“But why are you down here?” Harry asked, looking over the area warily. “What about the guards?”

//They are far from this location. We have plenty of time to return to our true forms and morph again.// Ax answered calmly.

“But why would you need to?” Hermione asked with a frown. “Does the transformation only last for a certain time period?”

“Are you kidding me?” Marco cried, turning back and forth from the slowly reappearing duo to the very wide eyed and sheepish Cassie. “You guys gave them the power to morph and you didn’t think to warn them of the two hour danger?”

“The what?” Ron and Harry asked together, the former growing panicked and the latter indignant. Hermione just raise an expectant eyebrow.

“Two hour time limit.” Rachel told them, rolling her eyes along with Marco at their friends. “If you aren’t back to your true form before the two hour mark you get stuck in that morph forever. And bear in mind that it takes a few minutes to change back so keep track of the time.”

“Well, that would have been nice to know.” Hermione stated crossly, glaring at Jake and Ax as the finished morphing. “That could have caused a disaster.”

“We would have remembered to tell you before that would happen, I promise.” Jake said quickly, turning to Her, Harry and Ron apologetically. “Along with a few other things Neville and the others already know that we’ll explain along the way.”

“You do that.” Harry sighed frustratedly. “The last thing we need is to get our butts kicked due to a lack of information of our own power.”

“And speaking of power and on the way, I think it’s time we got back to business.” Neville exclaimed, looking over everyone for any sign of argument. “Most of us have played with the acquiring power and smaller animals now and Anthony has hopefully gotten the need to act like a rash Gryffindor out of his system, so I say we speed this up now and get the morphs we actually need.”

‘Thank you!” Marco cheered, throwing his head back dramatically as I blushed again. Jake, Rachel and Cassie just showed a mixed reaction of annoyance and amusement at his outburst. The rest of us however, turned much more serious.

“Ok. So where do we go?” Ginny asked, turning once again to Cassie while Jake and Ax relaxed their bodies and Rachel and Marco started morphing Thestrals to replace them, a decision that seemed to have been made without words. I could understand why though. I watched as they changed back and forth and had noticed that they were growing more and more tired each time they returned to human. It was pretty clear that morphing tires you out, which, when you stop to think about it, made perfect sense. It would take a lot of energy to transform your entire biological structure without the aid of magic. The morphing power must add more power to it though, because even I know that the human body doesn’t have enough non-magical energy to make that kind of change on its own, let alone enough to do it and keep moving around.

“All the mountainous exhibits are out that way, towards the back of the zoo.” Jake answered for her, pointing far down a wide path. “Behind them are only the large habitats, for creatures that need a lot of space, like rhinos.”

“Then we’re heading that way.” Seamus decided, already marching down the path. The rest of us had to run to catch up as I assumed Rachel and Marco took to the air.

....

Admittedly, we got sidetracked a couple of times on the way, but Jake and the others were relatively ok with it. Seamus found a South American predator he really liked and decided that he wanted to use it. Cassie called it maned wolf. It didn’t look much like a wolf, more like a much bigger, more dangerous version of a fox, probably why Seamus liked it so much. A little further along, Ernie wanted to stop to acquire a chimpanzee. They’re smaller than Marco’s gorilla, but far more agile and maneuverable and were still five times stronger than a human. Plus, with its body shape, it could provide more help to the escaping prisoners. Needless to say that Ernie found his morph for Azkaban.

Besides, it still didn’t take all that long to reach the mountain exhibits.

“Here’s a good one.” Cassie beamed, stopping by one of the smaller mountain habitats. Stopping beside her, the rest of us peered over it, but it was so dark that I couldn’t even see what we were looking for.

“Is this one even inhabited?” Ron grunted, scrunching up his face and looking around again before turning to Cassie with firmly placed disbelief. “There is nothing in there.”

“Yes there is. Look right there and focus.” Cassie shook her head before pointing up onto the rocks about midway up the rocky cliff face. Following her finger as best I could, I squinted hard and looked for even the slightest detail and I still almost missed it.

After almost a minute of searching, I finally got a clue as a small tail twitched. Focusing on it, I finally managed to trail my eyes over it. It was dark furred and much smaller than I was expecting, making it almost impossible to make out at night. It looked like there were two up there, each looking about as long as my leg, from foot to hip, and looked bulkier than you’d expect for its size.

“What are they?” I asked curiously, trying to examine them more. They didn’t look like the dangerous kinds of creatures that we’d need tonight, but if Cassie thought they were a good choice then they were probably hiding something amazing. Plenty of small magical creatures did after all, so why would the non-magical ones be any different?

“Wolverines.”

“You mean like Wolverine, the X Man?” Jake asked, staring in with renewed vigour. Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry and Seamus snorted. The others all looked completely lost, so I was happy to know that I wasn’t the only one. Though that did sound familiar. I think Terry and I saw something about it on the TV.

“Get a grip, Jake. We are not going to find any humans with supernatural regeneration abilities and metal claws popping out of their hands here. That doesn’t actually exist. As far as I know.” Harry smirked, turning questioningly to the rest of us, but nodding in satisfaction as our expressions gave her the answer he was looking for. “Yep, I know.”

“But the creature is ferocious. And incredibly strong for its size.” Cassie smiled slightly as Jake rubbed his head. “They’re even courageous enough to take on bears of all kinds and be a challenge for them. There was even a report of when one managed to not only survive the confrontation, but actually succeeded in killing a polar bear. Just the once, but it’s still pretty impressive. It’s speed and size make it a hard target to hit too.”

“A mighty midget? Weird.” Jake said, cocking his head at it again before turning to us. “So is anyone gonna try it out?”

“I’ve already got my chimpanzee morph. I’m good for tonight.” Ernie shook his head before waving his arms out to the rest of us. “One of you guys take it.”

“I am happy with the alligator. I wish to use it tonight.” Luna announced, stepping back beside Ernie.

“There’s no point in one of us taking it either.” Harry stated, pointing to Ron and Hermione. “We don’t need any more morphs for tonight, so you guys just get what you need and we’ll come back for more morphs later. We can come back any time and this should speed us up a little.”

“So that leaves Neville, Ginny, Seamus and Anthony. Who’s it going to be guys?” Jake asked, looking at us pointedly.

Exchanging looks with the Gryffindors, I could tell that none of them were all that keen on it. Being the charge in wands blazing types that they are, they were all probably thinking of using bigger forms with a little more weight to throw around. Looking up at the wolverine, it was obvious that it wasn’t what they’d ever call a big gun. It was small and, now that that the moonlight was on it, looked a lot like a toy bear crossed with a weasel, which I later found out that was because it is actually part of the weasel family. It seemed kind of silly that it was expected to do anything truly amazing in a fight at Azkaban. Kind of like me.

“I’ll take it.” I announced, surprising the Gryffindors. And, though they tried to hide it, brought upon a little relief at not having to take it on themselves. Cassie on the other hand, smiled proudly.

//I shall assist you in separating the wolverines.// Ax volunteered, taking a few steps back in preparation to jump over the high brick wall. Nodding thankfully, having no desire for a repeat of the painted wolves scenario with the super powered small fries, I pushed myself onto the wall and dropped to ground well below on the other side just as Ax made it over, landing gracefully in the dirt.

“Ginny, Luna, get back! Wands at the ready people.” Harry called as six wands appeared over my head. Taking a few steps forward, I looked back a little to give the others a thankful smile. Knowing that there were six wands backing us up and Ax was right by my side made me feel a lot calmer this time than I was before.

//They do not seem to have noticed our presence yet.// Ax commented as we crept slowly close, only getting a nod from me in response as I dug out my own wand. If these animals were as vicious as Cassie claimed, then I didn’t want to risk startling them before we were ready, no matter how many wands we had trained on them. Only Cassie knew just how fast and resourceful they were and unfortunately, she wasn’t one of the armed allies.

It wasn’t until we started climbing the rocks that they even raised their heads. Or rather, I climbed while Ax carefully jumped up a couple of flat surfaces before he could go no further. Fortunately, I didn’t need him to. The second they registered we were there, their mouths were opened into terrifying snarls and released a hiss before charging right at us.

Startled by their sudden and amazing speed as they approached, I couldn’t even get my wand levelled with them before they were right on top of us. Fortunately, Ax was much more prepared. Despite the danger I was in, I found that I could do nothing but stop and admire as Ax’ tail lashed out with FWAP, faster than the eye could see, effectively blocking the wolverines’ way before a second swipe knocked one right down to the ground before it even knew what had happened.

Unfortunately, the other had avoided the first strike so well that it was out of Ax’s range and the second its paws had touched the rocks, it twisted around and launched itself right at me, crashing hard into my stomach.

Coughing and spluttering, well winded along with everything else, I crashed hard into the rocks before my momentum sent me and my attacker rolling right off and to the ground. I knew Cassie hadn’t kidded about its strength, though much smaller, it was almost as strong as the painted wolf. I was only lucky that our roll and fall, along with my baggy robes, had stopped it from sinking its teeth into me yet. That and that the others had responded so wonderfully.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” Before either my assailant or the other, recovered weasel could attack again, the duo voices simultaneously casting the spell levitated both of the helplessly into the air.

“Thanks guys.” Wheezing as I tried to regain control of my breathing, I accepted the help Ax provide with his tail and arms to stand up before slowly placing my hand on the exposed, defenceless back of the one that struck me and concentrated, closing my eyes to better picture the creature in my head and smiling as I felt the warm, tingling sensation of DNA absorption again, though this animal was the one out of ten that stayed aware. I wasn’t surprised, it was a pretty focused, little predator. Beside me, Ax took a step closer to the other, studying it intently.

//These creatures are certainly very stocky. Their muscle development is quite extraordinary for their small stature, a very rare sight. I believe it might come in handy.// Reaching out, he acquired the other one himself.

“Ok, we got it.” I called up, satisfied when my voice came out normal again, though I flinched when a scrape by my jaw complained about the movement.

“Then one magical pick up coming right up.” Seamus called back as he and Hermione pointed their wands at us and Harry and Neville pointed theirs back down, resulting in us rising while the wolverines returned to the ground.

“Ok, on to the next habitat.” Ginny said merrily, probably not seeing my injuries from a distance, as she practically ran to a much larger habitat two walls away from the Wolverines with Luna in tow. The others, particularly Cassie and Ernie, waited a moment to scan me over quickly, but I simply grinned and walked ahead, silently assuring them that it was just a few scrapes.

“I found what I want, but I think it’ll be a good idea to stop it from moving first.” Ginny informed us as she waved proudly into the habitat looking in, I was startled to find what looked like a small lion glaring at me from a tree branch. With the moonlight reflecting in its eyes and its jaw opened and pointing its deadly fangs our way, it looked scary enough to send shivers down my spine.

“Is that a lion?” Ron gaped, looking a cross between scared, awed and indignant. “Aren’t they feeding it right? Look how small it is! And what happened to its mane? Lions are always supposed to have a mane.”

“Unless it’s female like this one.” Hermione stated, shaking her head. “According to the stand over here, her name is Sheba. And she’s a cougar, also known as a mountain lion, not a real lion.”

“Oh.” He mumbled, going red around the ears and refusing to take his eyes off the big cat.

“Cougars are the largest of the small cats and are amongst the greatest terrestrial mammals of the Western Hemisphere due to their power, speed and most importantly, their adaptability. It is a very good choice.” Cassie informed us.

“Great, then Luna and I will clear off for a minute and one of you freeze it in place, preferably on the ground.”

“You guys rely far too much on magic.” Jake muttered under his breath, not planning on being heard. I only got it because he moved close to me when Ginny started moving people out of the way. Though, I had to concede to the point. He wasn’t wrong. There were even some wizards and witches out there that used magic to do things as simple as tying their shoe laces. And, excluding the alligators scenario, we’d used it constantly here tonight with the animals. The Animorphs had always done this without magic.

It makes you wonder which is actually the greater side of the human race. Those of us who can do extraordinary things or those who have learned to survive without the aid of magic.

The others didn’t care even if they heard and Harry was already dropping into the habitat. Ginny got her wish, the cougar was quick to drop to the ground as he approached, slinking around him.

“Impedimenta!” Harry’s wand whipped out right as it lowered itself on its haunches, the flare of fight light hitting it dead center before it could figure out that it was being attacked and freezing it as if time had stopped. He made it look easy. There was no way that I could have done it so well, that cat was already showing signs of speed and grace beyond my level.

“Got it. Be quick Gin.” Seamus called over his shoulder, instantly setting Ginny into motion. Running right back, she swung herself into the habitat, strode straight up to the cougar and placed her hand on its head, acquiring it.

//Marco, we will be in need of assistance retrieving Ginny.// Ax called up as she finished, keeping her hand in place to keep the cat calm. The jinx would have worn off by now.

//Alright, Air Marco is coming in for a landing. All aboard.// Marco called dramatically as a flapping sound like sheets passed over my head. He must have landed pretty quickly, for Harry was already grabbing Ginny and pushing her up onto something invisible before following after her. By the time the cougar snapped out of it, they both seemed to be sitting funny on thin air and moving fast, first horizontally and then vertically up to us.

//Thank you for flying and goodnight.// Marco chirped as they came down close to us, Harry and Ginny jumping right off. //Oh and by the way, you have about twenty minutes, give or take five, before four guards make it to this area.// He added as we were met by a clopping, a flap and a gust of wind, indicating that he was taking off again. //Might wanna get a move on.//

“Well then, good thing only Neville and Seamus still need a morph for tonight.” Jake shrugged. “We’ll be done in plenty of time.”

“Then how about we go for the mountain goats?” Cassie asked, pointing to a round exhibit with the largest pile of rocks. It was as big as a two story building. And on it and all around it were large white furred animals. They had horns on their heads and a kind of similar body structure I guess, but I couldn’t stop myself from frowning at the name, a sentiment that Neville and Ernie seemed to share as they exchanged unsure looks. These things didn’t look much like goats.

“So what are these things like?” Seamus asked, tilting his head curiously. I think he kind of liked them.

“They’re herbivores and pretty gentle most of the time.” Cassie answered, watching them sleep affectionately. “But they are good and strong and their feet make them capable in dangerous, rocky areas that even the mountain cats can’t handle. They’re pretty quick at rock climbing too. It’d be an easy animal to acquire and plenty strong to use. As long as they’re not aggravated.” She added softly.

“Then I’ll give it a shot.” Seamus grinned, climbing in merrily. Taking care to keep his approach silent with an ease that came from plenty of practice, he crept right up to the nearest one on the ground and kneeled down before it before it even noticed he was there. It must have smelled him or something at the point, for as he slowly reached out to touch it, it sluggishly raised its head, unafraid, to meet his hand and stopped there as Seamus closed his eyes.

“Thanks, bud.” He muttered a moment later, rubbing its head affectionately before heading back to us with a huge smile on his face. Jumping up and latching on to Ernie and Harry’s outstretched hands, he kicked up off the wall, helping them pull him back out and beamed at us excitedly. “You should see those guys up close. Their muscles are huge and their fur’s really thick and rough.”

“They do live in snowy mountains.” Cassie laughed while Neville, Ginny, Jake and I smiled at his enthusiasm. It was pretty contagious, soon we were all chuckling away as we walked on, passing the rocky terrains and entering larger landscapes. After all the stress that had come from tonight, learning about the Yeerks, the battle with the Slytherins, the concern that was Blaise Zabini, almost getting killed by multiple animals and the constant, nagging fear of what would happen at Azkaban, it was felt great to have a good laugh and let go, if only for a few minutes.

“So, I still need a morph all my own for tonight and then we’re done.” Neville said as we calmed down, looking around at the particularly large species surrounding us. Most of them were all around the size and shape of horses. Wildebeests were too our left, tall giraffes were ahead of us in the distance, along with rhinoceros’ and elephants, and to our right was a sign directing us towards lions, bears and buffalo. Staring at each of them, Neville let a rare smirk cross his face. It was safe for me to say that he liked the implications around him. “So, since we’ve found the big guns anyway, how about I acquire something really powerful? You know, someone will need to keep the path to the exit clear after all.”

“Fair enough.” Jake shrugged, looking around at what was available. “But we’ll already have someone using the rhino and elephant, so for the sake of our Animagus ploy, you better get something else. Something no one else has.”

“I know something.” Cassie claimed, making a beeline toward the buffalo area, forcing the rest of us to pick up the pace to follow. She led us past three species of oversized cows before she came to a halt in front of a very...interesting creature.

“What is that?” Ron asked, staring at it with unrestrained disgust. Well, to be fair, it wasn’t going to win any beauty contests, but the level of revulsion Ron was displaying was a bit much.

They were taller than I was and looked to be about ten feet long. They were covered in dark fur, black or brown, I couldn’t tell in the moonlight and their bodies carried serious bulk. Their heads were huge and looked like they could be used as battering rams, bearing a triangular shape and carrying two, two foot long horns. All in all, I’d say it would be quite the dangerous opponent.

“It’s an American bison.” Cassie said calmly, completely unperturbed by Ron’s attitude. “It’s one of the three most dangerous animals in all of North America, right up there with the Grizzly bear. Extremely powerful and deadly from both the front and back. If you want a big gun, they don’t get much bigger.”

“And there’s one sleeping real close.” Harry added, pointing down. Following his gaze, Ernie snorted in amusement.

“No kidding. Neville, we’ll hold you by your feet. You won’t even have to touch the ground.” He smiled as the rest of us looked down. Sure enough, one bison was sleeping right against the wall.

“Great. Just one tweak to the plan.” Neville said shortly before taking a seat on the ground and taking off his shoes and socks.

“Um, Nev?” Hermione asked, tilting her head inquisitively.

“I don’t wanna go upside down and any part of my skin can absorb DNA, right?” He asked, turning to Ax hopefully. It was understandable of course, who wanted to go face a beast that dangerous hanging upside down? He could get a horn right through his head if even the slightest thing went wrong.

//Correct. Any bare flesh can be used to acquire an animal’s DNA.// Ax nodded, a strange sight as his stalk eyes remain exactly where they are the whole time his head is bobbing.

“So you will hold me by my hands and I will acquire it with my feet.” Neville stated, making sure the still grinning Ernie and Seamus got the message.

“Oh sure, take the fun out of it.” Seamus whined, though it failed to have any affect as he just kept on smiling as he latched on firmly to one of Neville’s arms, Ernie grabbing the other, and helping him up and over the barrier. Neville glared at him in response, but said nothing as he was lowered slowly down. Keen for the DNA or not, he was still afraid of the creature’s possible attack should it awaken and had even taken to breathing very slowly as he descended.

Both boys holding him ended up arching over the wall as they lowered him and had to stop for fear of all three of them falling in by the time Neville got close. And that was a problem because he was still a couple inches too high up. Man, they made that wall big!

“Hmm, maybe this wasn’t the best plan.” Ernie muttered, frowning hard and grunting as the cement dug into his stomach.

“So what now? Drop him and hope for the best?” Seamus looked a little too hopeful as he let that out with a grunt, getting angry looks from Ernie and all the other Gryffindors. “Ok, ok, blimey, it was just a suggestion. This isn’t comfortable you know.”

“There is one other option.” Harry said in that way he talked when he was calling for everyone’s attention. “Lengthen the chains.”

“What does-wh-mmff!” Seamus cried as Ron, Ginny, Harry and I grabbed him and Ernie and slowly guided them further over the edge, Luna smothering Seamus’ shout with her hand before he could wake up the bison while Ernie merely sucked in a deep breath. Both of them ended up with their entire torsos over the other side while we held them firmly in place.

The added drop proved to be just enough for Neville. Though he still could barely do it, he did manage to touch the bison’s shoulder with his big toe and scrunched up his face hard in concentration, obviously hoping that the bison didn’t notice or would fall into a trance if it did. Personally, I just hoped he was acquiring the DNA touching his toe and making this human chain thing worth it, not the DNA touching his hands.

“Hehe, haha.” Seamus and tensed in my arms as Neville started snickering.

“Nev, stop it! You’re gonna shake right out of our grip!” Ernie hissed forcefully, but quietly, trying to tighten his grip while the rest of us holding them looked down, growing more scared as Neville twisted around.

“I can’t help it, its fur and the tingling is tickling my toe.” He snickered, biting down on his lip to keep from laughing for a few more seconds before pulling his foot up. “Ok, I got it, pull me up.”

Moving my arms up around Seamus’ chest while Ginny tightened her grip on his legs, we pulled him back, grunting at the effort and forcing Seamus to stop squirming as his body rubbed against the rough concrete while Harry and Ron did the same with Ernie. As soon as they had their feet on the ground again, we let go and Harry and Ginny moved to grab Neville’s arms, helping them pull him up.

“Well, that was fun. Can we get the hell out of here now?” Seamus pouted as he raised his shirt and tenderly rubbed his red belly.

//I hope so.// A voice I hadn’t heard in a while called cheerfully.

“Who was that?” Hermione asked, quickly growing little worried and curious. It took me a few seconds to remember that they hadn’t be introduced yet.

//I’m the bird boy, Tobias. A long story that I doubt anyone’s told you yet.// Tobias replied happily as he swooped down out of nowhere, eliciting a scream from Ron and jumps from the rest of us as he rested on Cassie’s shoulder. //And I have come bearing the news that Erek’s buddy has got access to a really big boat in the harbour and is getting it ready to take out as we speak.//

“Perfect. The let’s get this show on the road.” Jake grinned before turning serious again. Looks like it’s back to business. “Harry, why don’t you take Tobias and whoever you need to Ollivanders, grab the wands and meet us at the harbour? With your teleporting trick, the separation should really speed things up.”

“Alright. Seamus, Ernie, why don’t you come with?” Harry asked as the Golden Trio gathered close together.

“Go and rob an abandoned shop in the name of freedom and rebellion? Why not?” Seamus shrugged as Ernie nodded.

//So I’ll lead them to you when they’re done?// Tobias said more than asked, flapping his way over to Ernie.

“That’s the plan. You can give them your story while you’re at it.” Jake nodded as his form began to disfigure. Ax and Cassie followed suit while thumping and clip clopping announced the landing of Rachel and Marco. Within minutes, Luna, Neville, Ginny and I were on the backs of Thestrals, about to take off into the air.

“See you soon.” Luna waved as we took off into the sky once more. Heading towards the harbour, I tightened my hold on Marco’s mane and kept my eyes closed the whole way. Flying was amazing, but I would really like it if I could see what was making me fly.

Although, it did provide a distraction, one that I needed right now. See, by the time we got to the harbour, Harry’s group would most likely have the wands and we’d be on our way to Azkaban. And no one sane, no matter what the reason, wouldn’t ever be anything short of terrified at the idea of going to that place.


	17. Neville

My name is Neville.

“So you really are made of metal?” Ron asked for the tenth time as we loaded onto the boat, making me roll my eyes and Ginny groan. Most of the others had taken off to the other side of the boat, fed up with the conversation. Only Anthony and Hermione, who were discussing the topic much more deeply with the other robot, Erek, were still with us as Ron repeated the same question over and over again.

“Yes Ronald, I am made of metal. There isn’t a single organic body part in me.” To his credit, Max seemed to be taking it pretty easily. Being a metal man must come with infinite patience. He seemed more amused than anything else.

“Then how are you alive?”

“My creators were beyond brilliant.” Was Max’ simple answer. It was enough for most of us. Since arriving, both groups more or less at the same time, we’d been told of the Chee and their basic history, including that about their creators from another world, the Pemalites, and about the length of time the Chee had been on Earth. Hermione and Anthony had gone starry eyed at the prospect of living, sentient robots and their technology and had been bombarding Erek with questions ever since. Not that he minded either. On the contrary, he looked like he was having a good time, if the emotions on his glamour’s, or hologram’s, face was anything to go by.

“So what do you-”

“Ron, if you’re about to ask about what he eats again, I’m going to throw you overboard!” Ginny snapped, placing her hands on her hips and giving him a very stern look. Harry once told me that when she got like that, he was scarily reminded of an angry Mrs Weasley.

“What?” Ron sputtered, suddenly losing that dopey look he’d been sporting throughout his whole, repetitive conversation and shrinking under his sister’s gaze. “He doesn’t-”

“You’ve asked him the same questions twenty times over and they’re not even intelligent ones.” Ginny interrupted, her fiery temper flaring and setting off a panic in Ron. “If you ask one more stupid question then tracer or not, I swear I am gonna take my wand and-”

“OK! Ok, I’ll stop now.” He cried quickly, throwing his hands up in defeat before rushing off, ignorant of Max’ chuckling.

“Sorry about him. I think he’s missing a chromosome or two.” Ginny sighed, calming down instantly as Ron disappeared from sight.

“Aahh, don’t worry. It’ll take a lot more than a guy with a bit of a slow mind to annoy me.” Max shrugged as he finished up his preparations and heading up to the controls. “Now let’s get going.” With that, he twisted a key, a low growl sounded beneath us and we took off through the water, quickly picking up speed.

Azkaban wasn’t very far out to sea at all, you could see the island from the mainland, but it wasn’t near London, so it was going to take about an hour to reach it. I spent the first half of that time watching the water and talking to Jake and Harry, getting to know the younger leader better while catching up with my friend. The others had formed small groups too as we sat around, though everyone was nearby, so we all heard as the Animorphs talked about their lives and battles and they heard as we’d explain the magical world. I think we were all trying to avoid thinking about what we were doing. Even the Animorphs were iffy about going anywhere near an army of Dementors and we had no idea what fighting the Hork-Bajir would be like. Plus, even though we’d be pretty decent animals, most of us were going into battle without magic. That was completely unheard of in all of wizard history. Strangely enough, the only one of us that had ever done it before was Harry and he was going in wand blazing.

The nature of our conversations changed when Erek informed us that we were halfway there though. At that point, it was straight down to business.

“Ron, Hermione and I will have to go in first.” Harry stated, looking like he’d rather eat cow manure than do what he said. “The tracers will still be on the girls, which means that they’ll have to keep a good distance from us anyway, and when we arrive, a huge number of Dementors are going to swarm us, you’ll need to give us time to send them running.”

“These tracers are going to cause a lot of problems.” Marco groaned, rubbing his face exasperatedly. “It’s not just our wand wielding trio we have to worry about. Once we start arming the prisoners and they start casting spells...”

“We’ll just have to help guard the lower levels and make sure no one uses magic down there.” Ginny sighed, not looking to sure. “Which means that we’ll have to make sure that there’s no need to.”

“We’ll need a lot of power down there, keep it clear for everyone to escape.” Rachel piped up. “And the front door will be the main way the Hork-Bajir will try to enter the place when the Yeerks discover what’s going on."

“Neville will be staying down there too.” Cassie stated, looking to me as I raised an indignant eyebrow at her before she smiled apologetically. “Unless you demorph, you’ll get stuck if you go upstairs. No bison, buffalo or any other breed of cow can go down stairs.” Oh yeah. That was my plan anyway.

“We’ll have Ax and Rachel stay with you guys too.” Jake decided, turning to the aforementioned Animorphs for confirmation. “Ax will need to use his elephant morph, so stairs would be a problem for him too and Rachel’s grizzly should be all the backup you should need.”

//And we can all stick to the ground floor once prisoners are freed.// Ax commented. //Surely some of the captives will help us fight when we release them. They could be enlisted to the keep the next level up free.//

“I think we need to consider another problem.” Hermione called, drawing everyone’s attention. “The Aurors watching the place from the roof. They need to be dealt with quickly or they’ll call for backup and then we’ll have an army of Aurors and Death Eaters on us.”

“Not a problem. You and Ron can deal with it with the help of an Animorph and Ernie.” I responded, startling everyone so much that I became the focus of everyone’s either shocked or frowning faces. I’d already thought about that problem and knew how to deal with it. “One of you guys morph Thestral and fly them up to the tower at the same time Harry blows through the front door. The two attacks will split the Dementors up and Harry can clear the first level on his own easily while the others take out the Aurors before they can alert anyone. Then they can start clearing out the upper levels while Harry moves on with the help of the rest of us. A witch and wizard at your levels, a chimpanzee and a Thestral should be enough to handle the upper levels.”

//But the whole point of you guys acquiring normal animals was to prevent the Yeerks and Death Eaters from figuring out that we’d come and given you Andalite power.// Tobias said hesitantly. //Isn’t having a Thestral there defying that?//

“Not at all.” Luna shook her head softly. “Thestrals are very loyal creatures. They protect whoever they’re with. Anyone looking into it would simply think that you are a normal Thestral.”

“And we have used them against the Death Eaters before. A couple of times actually.” Hermione added.

“Ok then. In that case, the Thestral will be Tobias.” Jake stated, turning to the hawk. “If the Yeerks notice a red tailed hawk, they’ll know it’s us in there instantly. You’re like our team’s signature animal.”

//Yeah, good point. I’ll do it.// Tobias agreed.

“So the rest of us will charge up through the lower levels with Harry?” Seamus asked, getting nods from Jake and Harry in return.

“Ok, so how about we now address the problem everyone’s missed?” Erek butted in before we could say anything else, earning him a round of raised eyebrows. “The ground group’s arrival. Max knows how to get the boat past the rocks hidden below the waves, but if they see an approaching boat, the wizards will sound the alarm and the Yeerks will send down their forces too soon, if they don’t just blow the thing up. We can only take you so far by boat.”

“No problem, we’ll just do what we did for the Presidents’ meeting and...travel by underwater morphs that most of you guys don’t have.” Jake said, groaning at the end of it as realisation struck.

“Then we’ll give them a ride, let the waves hide us and morph to battle morphs in the water like we did last time.” Marco shrugged.

“Seems like a good idea.” Seamus shrugged, clearly fine with getting wet. “Problem solved. Anything else to worry about before we get too close?”

“Um, actually yes. There is one minor detail we’ve forgotten about.” Cassie muttered embarrassedly, her biting her lip as she looked up at my friends and I hesitantly. “The clothes dilemma.”

“What clothes dilemma?” I asked warily, not sure I wanted the answer as my friends all tensed, bar Luna, and the Animorphs turned sheepish. “What’s wrong with our clothes?”

“Well, why do you think we’ve piled these up instead of wearing them so much?” Rachel asked, pointing at the fancy shirt and pants covering her form since we’d gotten on the boat. “Do you think we just like walking around with no shoes and in outfits that leave nothing to the imagination? Even after all this time, we still haven’t figured out how to morph anything that isn’t skin tight and even that took a full week of practice for everyone, with the exclusion of Cassie. Basically you guys are going to have to either leave your clothes on the boat or you’re going to lose them.”

“WHAT?” Ginny and Anthony shouted, both going quite extraordinary shades of red as she jumped straight up and he threw his hands over his lap and staring down at the floor. Ernie and I had gone bug eyed as well and I could feel a lot of heat gathering in my face as I thought over the implications. Even Luna looked a little embarrassed.

Suddenly I was beyond jealous of the Golden Trio. They weren’t going to be morphing at all, so they could keep their clothes on. Hell, even Ernie had it better than most of us. He could morph the chimp in some private place on the boat and just stay that way until he returned. If I knew the implications of this little forgotten piece of information, I would have set myself up for going with Ron and Hermione.

We’d be getting in close by the Animorphs’ marine morphs, which meant that we had to be human. None of our new morphs could hold onto a fish so, if we wanted to have clothes to return to, we had to ride them naked. Our bare skin pressed to theirs, letting them feel every detail of our bodies while we’re in plain sight of everyone else. Even if we were all guys, that would be disturbing, but with girls there too...I was going to die from the mortification.

“You didn’t think to bring this up a little sooner because?” Ginny snapped, falling into a tirade. I just let her. No one else, bar Ernie, who seemed to have registered his good fortune, lucky bastard, was in any condition to respond. Even Harry, Ron and Hermione were blushing and watching awkwardly, especially Ron. I could barely tell the difference between his hair and his face. Then again, we were talking about his younger sister being naked around ten other people, most of which are guys, so it would make sense.

“Because we’ve been rushing through this and the thought never came up.” Marco admitted, turning away embarrassedly. The other Animorphs all bore similar expressions. “We don’t usually think about it much anymore, it’s become instinctive to have spandex under our clothes and to take off the outer layers before we morph.”

“All well, nothing we can do about it now.” Seamus shrugged, relaxing back into his chair and startling everyone who wasn’t a Gryffindor.

//You’re not troubled by this at all?// Tobias asked curiously as he shifted his wings.

“Nope. Not even slightly.” Seamus smirked.

“Seamus’ sense of modesty has always been somewhat...lacking.” Harry muttered, unable to find a better word for it. It was true though. From the first night at Hogwarts, our dorm had known that Seamus was in no way bashful about his body. He was quite happy for people to see him naked, regardless of gender and spent a lot of time last year trying to convince people into playing strip games with him. He would be fine with this. In fact, he was no doubt keen for it, the perverted exhibitionist.

“Meh, modesty’s overrated.” Seamus waved off. “You know clothes were originally intended solely to stay warm in cold months? Originally, people spent at least half the year naked. I don’t understand why nudity is such a bad thing or why people ever made clothes such a big deal in the first place. What’s so indecent about your natural appearance?”

//A question I have been asking since coming to Earth.// Ax agreed vigorously. //No other race bothers with clothing. It is more of a hindrance and an irritation to have to use it then anything else.//

“It’s a good question. Maybe you should look up what caused it and get back to us. But in this day and age, people are raised to cover up and grow embarrassed when they aren’t and we’re going to have to deal with that right now.” Luna spoke up with her rarely used, wise and serious voice, making everyone listen. “If we must, we can separate the boys and girls so it isn’t as embarrassing for us. Plus, it is dark and we’ll be in the water, so only the person you're riding and maybe duo next to you is going see a great deal. With their numbers, the boys might need to be a bit closer, but you can put Seamus in the middle, he wouldn’t care how many people see him.”

“And Max and I can put up holograms while you...undress.” Erek offered, pointing to his fellow Chee. “We can make it so the other gender doesn’t see you up here. We can even cover you individually until you’re in the water if you want us to.”

“I do.” Anthony muttered, he was only growing redder the longer this conversation went on and refused to look up. Actually, I think he was trying to make himself shrink and disappear into his seat.

“I guess it could be worse.” I conceded with a sigh, calming down just enough to get my voice back. Putting it that way, and if I ignored the fact that the creature beneath me was actually a human, then it wasn’t that different from using my dorm’s showers. Seamus, Harry, Ron and Dean had all seen me with no clothes plenty of times before, so Anthony and the other dolphins wouldn’t be much to worry about.

....

It wasn’t long after that that the plan came into effect. When we’d reached just close enough to see the rocky island, Max pulled the boat to complete halt.

“End of the line guys. From here it’s up to you.” He said, moving to one side of the boat. “Girls this way, boys on the other side. And don’t worry girls, I won’t look.” He added before disappearing. Staring at where he’d been, it took me a few seconds to realise that he’d already changed and expanded his hologram.

“We’ll start it off.” Jake stated, already stripping back down to his skin tight clothes with his team. “It’ll be safer.”

Nodding in agreement, we opted to lean over the edge and watch as they jumped into the water, blue fur and human skin quickly turning rubbery and growing dorsal thins, while legs turned into tails and arms shrunk, their bodies growing the whole time. A disgusting sight. I was just glad that the waves hitting the ship drowned out the squishy and bone cracking noises this time.

“You know, I just had a thought.” Ginny commented, drawing my attention. “There are six people to ride and only five dolphins to be ridden.”

“Oh, no problem. I will just morph alligator now. I plan on using it anyway.” Luna waved it off. “I’ll be slower, but I’ll have plenty of time to catch up while they change animals."

“Fair enough. Problem solved.” I shrugged, my eyes being drawn back in time to see five misshapen forms looking more dolphin than man. I was grateful that most of their bodies were underwater, it was horrid to watch. Yet, unless distracted, you couldn’t force yourself to look away. Just my luck.

“In that case, I have a thought too.” Seamus piped up, instantly making me wary. Beside me, Ernie, Ginny and Hermione looked no different, while Ron and Harry watched on curiously with Erek. Anthony was to engrossed in the disturbing sight below to show any signs of interest or concern. Plus, he didn’t know Seamus as well as us yet. Those of us who did though, we spotted the signs. His voice was far too controlled and he was struggling to keep his body casual. Like he was holding back an uproar of laughter at some inside joke. That wasn’t good.

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what are you on about, Seamus?” Ernie sighed, preparing himself for the worst.

“Oh, you’re fine Ernie, you’ll be in the air.” Seamus reassured him, immediately calming down not only him, but Ron and Hermione too. “It’s the simple fact that there are still five naked riders and five human/alien dolphins. Three male and two female dolphins and four male and one female humans. Which...which means...” He couldn’t hold it anymore and cracked up laughing, holding his sides and bending over the railing as I stared at him in horror. It was bad enough that we were going to do this, but to be a male rider on one of the girls. No way was I being that one, not a chance in bloody-

“You’ve miscalculated.” Anthony commented calmly, cutting off my thoughts and quickly calming Seamus down as we stared at him in surprise. I’d have thought he’d take that little bit of news worse than me, but, while he was still quite red in the face and was refusing to look away from where Jake and the others had almost finished morphing, his voice was pretty calm and steady. “One of those four boys is Harry and while he can morph, he’s not doing it tonight, which means his clothes are staying on.”

“Oh yeah. Right.” Seamus muttered, suddenly looking a little disappointed.

//Perverted pain! Get your head out of the gutter.// Tobias exclaimed, though he seemed just as amused as irritated. Well, a little more irritated, but you get what I mean. //Keep my team mates out of your little fantasies.//

“What? NO! No, no, no!” Seamus cried, throwing his hand up defensively as the bird fluttered in front of him. “They’re a bit young for me and I’m not into inter-species relationships. I’m turned on by humans, not sea life.”

Oh, right. Thank you Anthony. The Ravenclaw managed to stop my panic instantly, which left me free to express my annoyance and hit Seamus upside the head. “Don’t do that again. This is embarrassing enough without your input.” I snapped as Ernie chuckled beside me. “Don’t you start either or you and me can switch assignments!”

That shut him up quite effectively.

//We’re ready down here.// Marco called up, drawing us back to the task at hand. //Cassie’s heading over the other side for Ginny and Rachel’s moved to the front of the boat to take Harry ahead. You guys are up.// He finished, making me a little embarrassed again. That meant that they’d heard our whole conversation down there. Great.

//Then I better morph too.// Tobias added, landing on the front deck and starting his own change, his body already starting to turn invisible to the others. Lucky bird.

“See you on the island.” Ginny said confidently, completely unphased as she moved into Max’ hologram. She and Luna were completely uncaring about the situation now that they were assured us guys wouldn’t see them. I was envious of that trait, I really was.

Not a moment later, Erek’s human form disappeared and the world past our half of the ship turned a little fuzzy. It all happened in an instant and, unprepared to find myself staring at an ivory, humanoid dog shaped robot, I jumped back with a cry right into Ernie.

“I assume the hologram is shielding us now?” Anthony muttered bashfully, looking forlorn at the meaning as Erek nodded.

“It is. But if you want more privacy until you hit the water, you’re free to wait for the others to get gone.” Erek reminded him, getting a shaky nod from Anthony in return. I hoped he’d, hell, we’d all either learn how to morph clothes or get over our modesty soon, otherwise you could forget the Yeerks and Voldemort. We’d embarrass ourselves to death.

We needed to be like Seamus. The boy had already lost his robes, shirt, shoes and was shamelessly ditching his pants. Within seconds, he was completely bare.

“Cannon ball!” And jumping overboard with a splash and a cry from Jake about landing on his tail. “Sorry.” He muttered, though it didn’t sound entirely honest.

Ernie and I stripped at a much more sedated pace before growing hesitant at our underwear. I took a few breaths before sighing and dropping mine and stepping out of them, expecting Ernie to have done the same, but when I turned to him, instead of sharing awkward looks, I found myself jealous and glaring at him. Instead of losing his boxers, he was growing black fur.

His eyes were closed tight as he concentrated and he scratched everywhere hair was growing, like he had the chickenpox or something. Then I cringed, as did he, at the sound of his bones cracking. Anthony looked green behind me as he watched Ernie’s face reshaped, stretching, wrinkling and tanning as the lower half bulged out, his ears rounding and expanding.

“I hate you.” I muttered, covering myself unconsciously as I continued watching. Ernie merely smiled widely with reshaping teeth as his body shrunk a little. Ernie’s about five foot eight, and his body only lost a couple feet before stopping. And the whole time he was shrinking, his muscles were expanding. It wasn’t until two and a half minutes after he started that he finally ditched his boxers and by that time fur was covering pretty much everything anyway and it wasn’t even his body anymore.

//Guys, hurry up! If you don’t, Rachel will grow impatient and start the party without us.// Marco called up, obviously very impatient himself.

“We’re coming, keep your fluke on.” I shouted back, turning away as Ernie finished his morph. I stopped at the railing as I felt eyes on me and turned to find chimp boy staring curiously right at me. “Did you want something?” I asked heatedly, my cheeks darkening again as I turned so my side was facing him. “Seriously, creepy much, Ernie?”

//Huh? Wha..oh, OH! Sorry, I don’t...sorry.// He spluttered, shaking himself. Thoroughly embarrassed myself, it was pretty relieving to find Ernie a mortified mess. It even removed the strangeness of hearing his voice in my head. //I don’t...I forgot about the instinct thing. The chimp mind was curious as to what a hairless brother was doing.//

//Why are you embarrassed?// Ax asked, only causing both of us to grow even more mortified if that was possible and even both of us glaring at him wasn’t stopping Anthony from laughing as he took off his shirt and dumped it with his robes, shoes and socks. Ernie mustn’t have been limiting his thoughtspeak, meaning everyone heard him //Did something unusual occur while under your morph’s influence?//

//That’s my business!// Ernie snapped quickly, tensing in place and crossing his arms. You know, if I wasn’t about to die of embarrassment, I’d probably find all the human reactions on the chimp hilarious.

“Come on Ernie, don’t be shy.” Seamus called up teasingly, making me gulp as fear flooded me again. I had an idea what was coming and I was tempted to go kill him myself. “Did Neville surprise ya? You were staring weren’t you?”

“Seamus, shut up!” I yelled as my face somehow grew even darker. Having enough and unable to handle both Seamus and the fit Anthony had been reduced into, I jumped into the water with a splash. I would have been quite happy to sink to the bottom.

//I got you, big guy.// I could just imagine the teasing smirk on Marco’s face as something firm and rubbery slipped below me and pushed me up to the surface.

“You couldn’t just let me drown, could you?” I muttered, refusing to look at anyone as we broke through the water, altering myself so my lower body stayed below. Not that I really wanted to be pressed against Marco’s body, but at least this way I wasn’t out for all to see. Seamus on the other hand was sitting up on Jake’s back, smiling slyly down at me.

“You realise that when you next go to sleep I’m making you pay, right?” I muttered, pretending the others were just normal dolphins. If I pretend, I just might get through this with some of my dignity intact.

“Now now Nev, don’t walk into another one. We both know full well that I can twist that.” He replied, his smile only growing larger. Glaring hard, I so wanted to wipe it off his face, but I let it drop as another splash occurred not far beside me before another dolphin, Ax, gently rose a shivering Anthony just enough so both their heads and Ax’ blowhole was above the surface.

“Tobias and Luna have finished morphing.” He muttered, holding onto Ax tight and staring at the base of the boat, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. “Luna and Ginny are with Cassie and Luna’s in control. The others are loading up on Tobias now.”

//Perfect. Seamus, settle back and grab my fin, I want to go.// Jake ordered, getting immediate compliance from my mischievous roommate before we all took off. It looked like Jake was as keen to get past this part of the mission as I was. Though I could understand why. This was humiliating for me and Anthony. Seamus and Ax didn’t seem to mind, but I got the feeling that that this wouldn’t be the most desirable position for Jake and Marco either. Well good. At least Anthony and I weren’t alone in the awkward, uncomfortable area.

Hopefully that meant that we’d get to the part where this ended sooner.


	18. Tobias

My name is Tobias.

Staring at our destination, quickly growing ever closer, I couldn’t hold back the sick, disgusted feeling consuming me. I understood where they were coming from with the Dementor issue, but this was even worse than I thought.

The prison looked like a medieval dungeon from the outside and the looks I was getting through the windows as I got closer weren’t doing anything to change my opinion. These people weren’t only left in the constant care of despicable creatures that destroyed your mind in the worst way possible, they were left to rot in slimy, cold, uncared-for cells that barely contained a worn out blanket, unless you counted rats, spiders and cockroaches. I’m surprised that they actually had toilets installed.

I could only hope that the hell this Dark Lord and Visser Three were bringing over the Wizarding world would open their eyes a little and find a way to restore common decency. I wouldn’t put the Visser himself in a place like this.

My mood wasn’t exactly helped all that much as we got closer. Not only was the inhospitable conditions coming into even greater detail, but the air was getting significantly colder. Plus, there were plenty of Dementors outside the structure to suck away any chance of pleasantness.

“I wasn’t expecting that.” Hermione shouted over the wind from my back, her face looking very grim as I turned to my three riders. All three were watching with deep frowns as Dementors flew in spirals all around the prison’s walls and above it, their ragged, black robed forms reminding me of an army of enormous bats. It was hard to believe, but it definitely made the place look a lot more evil than it already was. “If we want to be able to dredge up even a halfway decent memory for a Patronus, we’re gonna have to do them around now.”

//But with all these dark clouds hanging around the night sky, their light is almost guaranteed to tip off the wizard guards before we get there.// Ernie argued worriedly, a few ‘Ooh, oohs’ tumbling out of his mouth.

“No, they won’t be expecting this.” Ron shook his head, raising his wand. “Hermione, have your Patronus fly up into the clouds above them and we’ll have them dive bomb the Dementors when we get in too close!”

“Ron, that’s...the most brilliant strategy you’ve ever come up with!” Hermione cried, shocked and impressed, earning a blush and a grin from the redhead as she raised her wand with his.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” Taking a hint from their plan, I raised my altitude closer to the cloud line just as both their wands exploded with brilliant white lights that within seconds had taken on the forms of an otter and a terrier and zipped into the cloud bank on their own power, looking as if they were running and swimming through thin air.

//Tobias, are you guys in place yet?// Rachel called with an air of impatience. //I’ve beached myself and am about to demorph. Harry’s already wading closer to the main entrance and the others aren’t too far behind.//

//Almost. Give us half a minute at the most.// I replied before flapping my wings harder against the wind. I could have gotten there well before that point, but this was supposed to be a synchronised first attack, followed by the quick appearance of an army of Animagus. So I went slow, hoping that the ruse would work with the Yeerks.

The trick’s effectiveness relied heavily on just how much the Yeerks knew about magic. They had to know about the branch called Animagi, or at least transfiguration, without having too much knowledge on the subjects. Animagi is a rarely touched branch of magic, and all practitioners are supposed to be registered. Self transfiguration is foolish, in terms of transforming yourself completely into another animal. There’s no way to change yourself back. But, if you can’t use a Patronus charm, it’s the best defence you’ve got against Dementors. Their powers have a far more limited effect on more instinctual, animal minds than they do on sentient ones. You still feel the cold and get unnerved, but your worst memories aren’t forced upon you, according to Harry and Hermione. While you’re far from happy, you can still think straight, like Marco, Ax and I did when we ran into one as wolves. We had to hope that the Yeerks had stumbled onto that information too, or at least that someone who would no doubt be involved in the many conversations that came from this would bring it up. Neville, Ginny, Ernie and Anthony were all confident that this would all come up in some conversations and any listening wizard Controllers would pass it on to the rest of their group. Still, I didn’t like relying so much on unpredictable conversations, hope and rarely known facts. Apparently Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny only knew how animal minds protected you from Dementors a bit because of a framed man, who happened to be Harry’s late Godfather, transforming into a dog to escape the place.

//We have caught up and began to morph for battle.// Ax stated a moment later, pulling my focus solely onto the scene. //Ginny is holding onto Luna a little further behind us. Prince Jake says that it is time to begin.//

//Got it. Going in.// I announced, pulling myself to full speed. If my passengers were startled at all, they got over it real fast, for not even a second after we got in range of the more negative effects of a Dementor swarm, both Patronus’ shot down like arrows from above, shielding us and driving the dark freaks away from us at the same time an even stronger light in the form of a stag charged at the tower below.

The effect was immediate. I’d had serious doubts about three measly witches and wizards propelling an entire prison on these creatures away, but so far it was going good. Not great, they were forming a very big, black mass on the opposite half of the tower, but it was still enough to keep me feeling warm and free from reliving really lousy memories. Thestrals are sentient apparently, the shiny animal shapes dancing through the skies were the only thing shielding me from a darkness that would rip my mind to shreds.

//First post is mine.// Ernie declared as I descended close to the roof. Waiting just until I was about to pass it, he jumped off and landed squarely on the roof of one of the watch stations and smashed through a window. Screams of surprise and the easily recognisable screech of a primate reached my ears while a few flashes of light decorated the windows before a sudden BANG announced the instant end of it all.

By that point, I’d already slowed down enough for Ron and Hermione to jump off and each of us were heading to a different house. I paid just enough attention to the others to know that they’d both blown the windows apart, Hermione sending the resulting glass shards flying in at a sharp angle with clear intent to pierce the legs of those inside, before sending in red flash after red flash and sidestepping whatever came out until it all stopped.

At the same time, I galloped right to the last one, reared up and kicked as hard as I could with my front feet, instantly bringing the door down to find myself facing two wizards jumping to their feet, both with wands pointed right at me only to freeze in confusion.

“Who’s there?” One of them demanded, frowning hard as he took a step forward. His partner muttered something and his wand released a flash my way, causing me to panic, but that quickly abated when I felt nothing happen and the guy only grew more confused.

“No disillusion or invisibility spells.” He muttered, lowering his wand unsurely. I on the other hand almost laughed. These two worked in a hellhole where suicide would be in its prime, but they’d apparently never actually seen someone die. I was completely invisible to them without use of a spell, which apparently meant that they couldn’t remove what made me invisible.

That didn’t meant that they wouldn’t figure out I was still here though, or that they wouldn’t notice what the others had done and did the magical equivalent of hitting the emergency switch, so I moved fast, leaping right into the small room and body slamming them right into a wall.

“ARG-OOF!” Banging their heads hard against stone, both slid down the wall. They were out cold before their heads even made it to the floor.

//All wizard opposition is down.// I reported as loud as I could, watching as the others all ran toward a door imbedded in the roof and revealing a staircase. The roof of the prison was much higher than my altitude had been when I’d last talked to the others. Thought speak has a range limit. I could only hope that I was still within it. //We’re heading in now.//

//Harry’s just blown down the door. We’re heading in too.// Jake responded, albeit very faintly. We were dangerously close to our distance limit. //Be careful, we don’t know the full extent of this place’s defences. Who knows what the dark wizards have added?//

//Or anything the Ministry didn’t reveal to the public.// Ernie sighed as he ran down on three limbs, using the fourth to adjust the bag of wands strapped to his back. Ron and Hermione could only nod grimly as they created a bright light from the tips of their wands and sent the otter Patronus ahead while the terrier rand circles around us, keeping the Dementors off of us. Not that it would last long, there were far too many Dementors moving in for one Patronus to shield us, but we only needed it up there long enough for Ron and Hermione to levitate me after them and close the door right after the dog ran in. Down stairs is a big problem for a horse body too, but thankfully the corridors were more than big enough for me to leap into the air and spread my wings, gliding down to the floor. Both Patronuses positioned themselves into circling around me and the staircase as swarms of black so big that they looked like solid walls surged right at us from both sides.

“Bloody Hell! Look at them all.” Ron exclaimed, visibly shaking as he ran down to join me with Ernie, Hermione only delaying herself long enough to magically lock the door and block the demons outside. “Hermione and I...we could never...”

Stop them all. He didn’t have to finish his sentence. I could already feel it, the cold, the growing doubt, fear and an image. A flickering memory of a particular Andalite screaming as he was thrown into an overgrown mouth.

//Then we give the Patronuses a hand!// Ernie snarled. Running up to the nearest cell containing a moaning man in his fifties, he grabbed two bars and ripped them right out of the stone before tossing them as hard as he could with a furious scream. Ever see a chimpanzee angry? That peaceful, cute little guy turns into something right out of a nightmare. Vicious as humans or gorillas, it also has five times the comparative strength of a human. More than enough to rip an arm off and apparently enough to take on a Dementor. Those bars each ploughed horizontally into a robed freak and sent them reeling back into their own. Seemingly encouraged by the result, Ernie ripped out another bar, leaving a gap big enough for the prisoner to escape from, walked right up to the perimeter the Patronuses had created and started swinging it like a baseball bat. It proved pretty successful too, his swings were so fast and strong that they sent freak after freak flying back into their own with impressive force, none of them succeeding in blocking or removing the pole from his grasp.

“I...I’m free?” The man stuttered, moving shakily into the hallway. His skin was greyish, he looked malnourished and in need of therapy, but as he stepped into Patronus circle his completely miserable, broken expression did gain a very slight bit of hope.

“Not yet, you’re not. It’s a work in progress.” Ron stated with a strained voice, thrusting a wand into the guy’s hand. At the same time, I couldn’t help but notice his terrier Patronus was growing duller too. “Please tell me you know the Patronus charm?”

“I...I um,...could never get past mist.” He responded slowly, observing the wood in his hand as if he couldn’t believe it was there. “And this is mine...the spell...and I can barely remember the last time I was...”

“Please just try.” Hermione grunted, her breath becoming laboured. The Dementors’ effect was increasing over all of us. Even Ernie and I, not quite as affected by them as Ron and Hermione, were really starting to shiver and more of my unpleasant memories were surfacing. Especially the ones dealing with water, my most hated memories. Judging from the spasms and increasingly distressed ‘OOH OOH AH AH’s, Ernie was feeling the same.

Not waiting for the man to try, I followed Ernie’s lead and galloped right toward the Dementors breaking through the Patronus barrier and went on a frenzy. Seeing me so close, many of them came surging in my direction.

“BBBBRREEEEE!” The cold and horrid memory flashes increased dramatically as they did, but fortunately for our side, instead of leaving me wallowing in depression, the Thestral proved that it did still bear some traits from its non-magical cousin and panicked. Desperate to relieve the anguish, I threw my wings out as hard as I could and knocked two Dementors away, before whipping around and kicking with my back legs. The second they were back on the ground, I pulled my body up onto them and lashed out with my front legs, stomping another one into the ground while my head snapped forward and clamped my sharp teeth around an corroding arm reaching out for my neck and tossing the Dementor away as another two were shoved back hard by another thrust of my right wing and another was shoved down to the ground as the wing came down. It was pretty impressive really, just how much power the Thestral had. If I was fighting just about anything else, most of my targets wouldn’t be getting up.

Unfortunately, these were Dementors. None of my attacks were doing much more than pushing them away. Delaying the inevitable. Ernie’s weren’t doing much better either. And by much better, I only meant that his swings were sending his target falling back into others more than mine.

“Expecto Patronum! Expecto...Expecto...” The old guy was stumbling over his words and from a quick glance in his direction as I kicked with my back legs again, I saw that his hand was shaking even more violently than the rest of him. He was frowning hard, as if struggling to remember something, which was highly likely considering the others told me that you need to focus on a very happy memory to use the spell. A feat that may prove impossible for him. Even from the very center of our weakly shielded area, the effects of the Dementors were still breaking through to him and he’d been feeling the full influence for who knew how long. He was lucky he had a mind left intact at all.

//This is hopeless!// Ernie groaned, extremely distressed. It only got worse a moment later. His body was shaking so much that his swings were losing their effectiveness. A few more strikes and they’d grown so wobbly that a Dementor managed to grab the bar and jerk it from his hands. Ernie retorted by grabbing the same Dementor by the wrist and tossing it at its allies with a mighty swing over his head, but he’d lost his edge. And at the same time, the Patronuses were growing dimmer. If Ron and Hermione fell any deeper into the Dementors’ misery inducing effects, they’d disappear completely and we’d all be doomed.

“Everyone move to the left. Toward the cell.” Hermione said weakly, taking large breaths. Grabbing Ron’s hand, she guided him over, the rest of us following. That alone seemed to help, because strangely enough, the otter and especially the terrier both started to glow a little brighter again, reducing the misery inducing effects, if only by a little. Something that happened again as we got our backs to the wall and turn the Patronuses’ circle into a smaller dome. It meant that the Dementors grew a lot closer to us, but the smaller range to protect did seem to give the silver light creatures a better grip on protecting us. The cold actually became just barely tolerable.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” It seemed to be just enough for the man to find some long, almost forgotten memory too, for suddenly, though his hand was still far too shaky, he actually succeeded in releasing a silvery mist from his wand. It was pitifully dull and weak, not doing a great deal at all, but with how in over our heads we were, it actually made a noticeable difference. I learnt long ago to take what you can get.

“Hey, wake up in there!” Ron shouted into the bars as Ernie ripped two out and swung them like a pair of bludgeons while I went back to kicking and whipping out a wing. With the Dementors growing more and more compacted around us, the benefits of compacting our shields was fading fast. The bright side was that for every one we hit, three more went tumbling with them now and the movement pushed heaps of others away too, if only for a second or two.

My position allowed me plenty of glances into the cage, this one bearing two prisoners slowly pulling themselves to their feet. Again they were middle aged, both women. One of them had grey streaks all through her long black hair and was as shaky as the man as she shook her cellmate. The other one however, once she’d woken up, had a very different air about her.

Though as malnourished and filthy, dressed in what could pass for rags, just as the other two, once she took a look at what was going on, her form grew tense and firm, ready for battle. Standing up, though her legs were still shaky, she stalked right to the hole in the bars, dragging her cellmate by the arm along with her.

“It was very foolish to come here.” She stated as sharply as her croaky, clearly unused voice could allow. “A witch, a wizard, an Animagus and a Thestral against Azkaban’s army? Ridiculous.”

“We’re not alone. We’re just the roof division.” Hermione stated as she dug two wands out of her bag and offered them to the newly freed as I delivered a very satisfying kick to a Dementor’s head. “Are you two willing to help us even the odds?”

“Still utterly stupid sending a group of three and a steed on their own. Especially with only two capable of Patronuses.” The woman muttered. But none the less, both women took the offered wands and she pointed hers straight at the black blanket of doom around us. “EXPECTO PATRONUM!” Instantly, she raised the wand and out from it exploded a huge eagle owl Patronus. Ron, Hermione and Ernie stopped, stunned as they watched it shoot off and join the other silvery light creatures, not that I could blame them. With that one extra Patronus, warmth was actually returning to my skin and all my unpleasant memories were receding.

“Amazing. It’s as powerful as Harry’s stag.” Hermione muttered, watching in amazement as the Dementors recoiled back and the owl moved out ahead of the others, creating a clear path to the next cell. It couldn’t do any more than that and the re-swarming Dementors were barely being held at bay at all by the otter, terrier and mist on the other side, but it was still a lot more than what we could have done before.

“We are fortunate. By some fluke, this wand actually chose me.” The woman muttered, walking briskly to the next cell, the rest of us close behind her. “Gale dear, please open the cell while we deal with the corroding pests.” Her former cellmate nodded quickly and got to work while everyone else went back to our efforts.

//We can’t forget the cages on the opposite wall.// I stated, already making a move I was sure to regret. Braying loudly, I pulled my wings close to me and ran straight across to the other side, right through the Dementors.

“Are you nuts?” I barely heard Ron’s voice behind me, but I did make a mental note to thank him later as his terrier came up beside me, offering me a little protection. It was all I needed as I slammed into the opposite cell, only to mentally groan.

//It’s empty.// I muttered, thoroughly irritated as I returned to the group. All that risk for nothing.

“How many cells on this floor still have occupants?” Hermione asked as Gale came back out of the cell with another two middle aged men. Looking at them, I was starting to grow a little hopeful again. These two looked as hardened and fierce as the witch taking charge, and though no animals left their wands as Ron and Ernie handed them one each, the silver mist was much stronger and brighter than the first man’s.

“We are it. The rest all died or were kissed by the Dementors and tossed aside.” The woman replied briskly, looking around left and right. “That’s why all our cells are so close. It was easier for the feeders.”

“That explains why so many Dementors are in this area too. This entire level’s assigned guards are all feeding off you at once.” Hermione assessed, getting a sharp nod. “Normally, they’d be scattered throughout the entire floor, not concentrated like this.”

“True. This is what the middle floors are generally like. Now, what is the next step in your ill-prepared plan?” She asked sternly, causing all of us to fluster, feeling like kids getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Hopefully no one noticed the reaction from me.

“Find the stairs, work our way down to the others and free everyone we find up here while half of them move up and the other half ensure that the first two floors remain clear. Most of the team are unregistered Animagus and are using animal forms.”

“Animagi! Like that’s going to do much here!” She scoffed, but taking the lead once again. no doubt she knew where the stairs were. “What could animals do in Azkaban?”

“You’d be surprised.” Ron muttered, though he shrunk back as she turned a reprimanding scowl his way.

“Now, now, be nice Clair. They’ve risked their lives to come save us.” The shaky man stated, surprising me as his voice came out much stronger than before. And now that I was looking at him, I was amazed at how alive he’d grown. His spell didn’t look much stronger than before, but he was jabbing away with his wand like a knife repeatedly and the result was bigger clouds of silver mist actually pushing a Dementor back each time. “It’s too late to stop them from coming, so you might as well show them some gratitude. All you’re doing right now is breaking their focus and weakening the dog and otter running about.”

“You’re...right, of course.” She sighed, conceding defeat. “I apologise. Let’s just try to make this work.”

//Then we better pick up the pace.// I cried, barely remembering to limit my thought speak to Hermione, Ron and Ernie as my ears picked up the loud, scraping sound of blades hitting stone and the gravelly shouts above us. Judging from their paling faces, the others had heard it too and it didn’t take much more than my announcement to make them realise just what it was.

We’d overlooked something when we were planning this. Besides everything Clair had pointed out and the unexpectedly high concentrations of Dementors here. The Yeerks’ Pool Ship was floating above Azkaban. So, of course, the first wave of the Yeerks’ shock troops would most likely to be sent down to the roof.

We were expecting to have gotten a lot further and have more battle ready wizards by our side before we had to deal with them. And we were hoping to have the bulk of Dementors fleeing by then too. As it was now, too much focus had to go into just stopping Dementors and Hermione and Harry had made it plenty clear that splitting their focus from the Patronus to cast anything more complex than a Lumos spell was a disaster waiting to happen.

Not waiting for the others to warn the freed prisoners, a grabbed the shaky guy and Gale, ignoring their panicked cries as I flung them on my back, and galloped to the stairs the second they were in sight, assuming that they others would catch up. We had to put distance between us and the Hork-Bajir NOW! We had to get more fairly mentally stable prisoners armed or join up with the others before they could catch us. Otherwise we were goners.


	19. Seamus

My name is Seamus.

First of all: I’ve got to get a dolphin morph of my own. And convince the others to get one and let me ride them. The first part, while we were still out of range of the Dementors, was better than being on a broom. These guys were fast and thanks to all the rocks just below the surface, were weaving and curving left and right with amazing speed and precision. The cold didn’t even bother me as the water streamed over my skin. There wasn’t a ride ever made that was more thrilling than the back of a dolphin and we hadn’t even experienced the underwater element yet.

However, the closer we got to the island, the more the thrill of it disappeared and dread refilled my stomach. A feeling that only tripled as we got close. Raising my head up as Jake weaved closer to Marco and Neville, I almost screamed at just how many Dementors were circling the building. The place looked like it had a giant, black ribbon flowing around it for crying out loud! And if there were that many outside, there was no telling how many were inside.

“I thought the Dementors were being spread out all throughout Hogsmeade, Hogwarts and Diagon Alley! How...blablbla...how are there still so many here?” I asked between mouthfuls of salty water. Talking on the back of a high speed dolphin with your head low to the water? Not the best idea.

“There must be more of them than we thought.” Was Neville’s shaky response and the shakiness had nothing to do with the water. I started growing really worried for him as I watched him. His arms were shaking as much as his voice and between that and the water, he kept losing his grip. Every few seconds, he had to pull himself back up towards Marco’s dorsal fin.

Looking to my other side, I found Anthony was only doing a bit better because Ax was taking everything at a slower pace for him and arching his body when the Ravenclaw did fall back. When we started this, that move would had all the blood in his body rushing to his head, but now he barely even noticed it happened. Dread, despair, thoughts, feeling and memoires best forgotten, they were overflowing in all of us, even those of is in dolphin morph were growing extremely rattled. But of all of us, Anthony was taking it hardest. He hadn’t developed the same level of resolve the rest of us had yet.

//Do not fret Anthony. It is almost time to morph.// Ax said rather calmly, though you could still hear the tremor of fear and pain within it. //Rachel has beached herself and it will only take thirty of your seconds to reach her.//

//Start morphing now guys. We’ll keep your heads above water if anything happens.// Jake stated a little breathlessly. I guess he either wanted us ready quicker and give them less to worry about while they morphed or were trying to spare us the ‘humiliation’ of Rachel seeing us in our birthday suits. I honestly couldn’t care less about the last one, but I did as I was told anyway.

Closing my eyes, I forced all the negative thoughts and feelings from the forefront of my mind and focused on my first morph ever: the mountain goat.

I’d been curious about exactly what it felt like to become an animal. It didn’t look or sound pleasant even once, it had always looked like you’d be in agony all the way through the process, though we were reassured repeatedly that it was painless.

They were right, it was painless, something that deeply relieved me. The first thing I felt was a pinching sensation on the top of my head. No pain, just like someone was gathering a chunk of bone and pulling it up. Crackling and snapping sounds, like bones breaking and replacing itself met my ears throughout the whole thing and when I raised a hand up to feel it, it ran across two thickening horns.

//Haha! Where’s your tail and pitchfork?// Marco joked half heartedly before gasping in surprise as he started to sink. Neville’s first change turned out to be bulging out, especially around the shoulders and head. It was actually enough to send an unprepared Marco down for a few seconds.

Chuckling humourlessly at the joke, I just focused harder, willing the changes to occur quicker, right as Jake jerked. He flailed his body and managed to crawl a few inches ahead, but it was done, he was beached.

Loud cracks came from all down my spine, shoulders and back next, frightening me for a second as my bone structure changed into that of a quadruped and forcing my torso flat against Jake’s tail, leaving my head resting awkwardly beside his dorsal fin and forever being struck by the churning waves.

The cold started receding a little, though not by much since most of it was caused by very despicable magic, as an itchiness covered my entire body, heralding the arrival of thick, white fur, something that I was relieved for. The external change of the fur growing all over my suddenly expanding body was a good distraction from the squelching and squishing feelings coming from my organs. The roaring waves blocking out the sounds that were sure to be there really helped too. My hands and feet reshaped themselves not a minute later, my hands developing the goat’s inner pads first and followed by the cloven hooves while my feet did the reverse. When they were done, they all simultaneously sprouted dewclaws out of what remained of my fingers and toes. A tail sprouted out by my butt a moment later.

The whole time all of that had been happening, I’d been growing and bulking up and by the end, I wished I had a camera so I could laugh at how ridiculous I looked. I had the full, complete body of a mountain goat, but with a human head with horns. The others would have laughed hysterically if we’d been anywhere else in the world. Not that I was the only comical one.

Neville had fully developed the size, legs and head of the bison, but his torso, which he modestly fought to keep below the water, was still mostly human, minus the bison’s bulk. He’d already gotten right off Marco, his weight too much for a dolphin to handle. On my other side, it was hard to tell what was Anthony and what was water in the dark. He was a small fur ball, forever moving higher up Ax’ body as best he could. A move that was still relatively easy considering the only things that hadn’t changed yet were his hands and feet.

Off to our side, Rachel was already morphing again too and looked like a ten foot, fully shaven bear in a long, blonde wig and clipped claws, while a little past her I could see what looked a lot like that cat headed goddess from Egypt, only with a lot more fur and leaning on an alligator as her body continued to change shape, a dolphin turning into a human at a far faster rate next to her. Strangely, the only one of us that seemed out of place where only the dolphins belonged was Harry the human.

//Ok guys, let’s start our own process.// Jake called as I forced myself off of him. He started shrinking immediately, Ax and Marco doing the same, at a much faster rate than I was growing. I guess you got faster with experience. By the time my head had shifted on my neck and the lower half of my face had stretched out, growing more white fur and a beard along the way, they were already around a third of the way back to human.

'Well, that was an interesting experience.' I thought to myself as the last of the changes finished up, that being my ears. It was definitely a weird one that I was confident that I’d never get used to, but...

My head snapped high as a sudden demand to get out of the water took over, the feeling only growing stronger as the waves crashed into my head. What the hell was I even doing in it anyway? Panic took over rather quickly as another wave struck me and pushed me further out to sea. I couldn’t swim, my home was mountains, not rivers, I could run on ice, not water, whoever was responsible for putting me here was going to feel the sting of my horns as I shoved them right through their...

//Anthony, please stop biting me.// A sudden voice said calmly, but firmly, startling me so much that I thrust my head and hit some weird, blubbery mutant.

//OW! Seamus, get a grip!// Another voice snapped, sounding really disgruntled, and making me swing again. //OW! Seamus, you are human, not a goat! Get control of the animal mind already, at this rate you’ll kill me.//

“Neville, stay put! Anthony, stop chewing Ax-man’s tail! Neville, knock it off, I’m not a good swimmer.” Ok, that one wasn’t in my head. Turning to my side, I found myself staring at a very big and dangerous looking bison, tossing in the water as a rubbery skinned, humanish thing struggled to hold onto his side without getting killed. “Guys, focus!”

//The three of you are wizards, not animals. Do not let the instincts control you.// The first voice...Ax, I realised, stated as his fully formed tail came down held a snarling wolverine in place on his back. However, as he talked, the snarl disappeared and the little powerhouse, one of the predators that kept my mind extremely wary, became completely still.

//Are you-// Jake started, only cut right off. I guess he found the point the others told us about. When you’re too human to use thought speak anymore. “In control now?” He asked a moment later, albeit a little squeakily. “If you are, focus your thoughts toward us and tell us.”

//I’m good now. Sorry Ax.// Anthony muttered sheepishly, not moving an inch after settling on a fully demorphed Andalite’s deer-like back. Lucky shrimp, Ax’ humanoid half was shielding him from the waves. Probably for the best though, his small form would get washed away out here. Hell, Ax, Jake, Marco and I were well at risk.

//It is fine Anthony. All damage shall be healed when I next morph.//

//I..I’m good now too.// I stated, forcing the instincts back down. Man, that was intense. Let me just say that Cassie lied. This beast was not a docile little guy. He had attitude. He was possessive and keen to show off in a fight, be it all for show or truly dangerous. And with the amount of muscle power I was packing, I could kick a guy right through a barn wall.

//I’m back in charge too.// Neville declared, forcing himself to stay still, well as still as he could with the wave. Though, he was definitely having the easiest time dealing with it. //But I’m tempted to let it take over again.// He added, sounding a bit more unsure than he had a moment before.

I could understand it though. While the mountain goat’s mind had been in charge, I felt uncertain and panicked, especially about being at the mercy of these consistent, rough waves, but the ice to the bone cold feeling and a feeling of growing misery hadn’t been there. With our human minds back in front, we weren’t nearly as protected from the Dementors’ dark effects.

//Keep the two minds in a more equal position.// Cassie’s voice called, drawing my attention to her only to do a very human thing and let my jaw drop. It wasn’t the best course of action considering it earned me a mouthful of salty water, but the reaction was understandable. Jake and Marco had only just made it back to fully human and Ax to Andalite, but Cassie was already halfway into the form of a bird on Luna’s back and changing fast. She had to be doing it twice as fast as I was at the least, much faster than the other original Animorphs. They’d all started demorphing at about the same time. I wondered how much experience it would take to get that kind of speed. //You can still use the animal mind as a shield and it’s better if the two minds work equally anyway. It provides a greater advantage with whatever action you perform and lessons the chances of the animal mind fighting the human one again.//

Doing as she said, I loosened my grip on the goat’s instincts and almost sighed at the immediate difference. Both the human and goat sides to me were still unnerved, but the cold and misery receded by a lot. Compared to before, it was bliss.

“Let’s get this started.” Jake muttered, closing his eyes and frowning hard as he struggled not to be swept away. Seeing it was a losing battle, I forced myself to take a few steps toward him and let him press against my side, getting a thankful nod in return.

//Harry and I are heading up.// Rachel declared before heading toward the island, the soaked Harry Potter being held flat against her upright chest with an enormous paw. Looking back on the memory, I always fall into a giggling fit when I remember the look on Harry’s soaked face. It was priceless.

“Ax, tell the others it’s time.” Jake ordered as grey fur started growing all over him. That surprised me a little bit. It was clearly wolf fur. From what I knew of the guy, I was expecting a tiger. But then, I reminded myself as Cassie flew ahead with Harry and Rachel, I wasn’t expecting an owl morph either. But in retrospect, maybe I should have. They were trying to hide the fact that the ‘Andalite Bandits’ had entered the magical world and using their most well known and used line up of morphs could easily give them away, even with us adding to the numbers.

//We have caught up and begun to morph for battle.// Ax stated, returning my focus to those of us still in the water as he started bulking up like crazy. //Ginny is holding onto Luna a little further behind us. Prince Jake says that it is time to begin.//

//Got it. Going in.// Tobias called back. Not a moment later, two things happened right before us at once. The first was that the Dementors finally noticed Harry and a bear walking through the water and surged for them. As for the other...

“EXPECTO PATRONUM! Harry’s voice echoed throughout the entire area as an enormous silver light exploded from his wand, hurting my eyes, quickly taking the form of a stag and charging straight for the Dementors, sending them flying away as fast as they could with their tails between their legs. I just sat back and admired the show. Harry easily had the most powerful Patronus of us all. In our third year he cleared an area of a hundred Dementors at once and his magic had only grown more powerful since then. There was no doubt in my mind that we’d be safe from them.

Two streaks of light descended from the clouds at about the same time and surged right for the roof of the building, dispelling the dark and dark creatures alike from above. Ron and Hermione were in full swing.

//All wizard opposition is down.// Tobias reported, though it came in really faint. I barely made it out. Especially considering at the same time, Harry threw three strong spells at the thick door and blew it off its hinges. //We’re heading in now.//

//Harry’s just blown down the door. We’re heading in too.// Jake responded, he, Marco and Ax finally finishing their own morphs. I was now surrounded by a bison, a wolverine, a wolf, an elephant and a rhino. With all that power, two of its most common predators close by and its greatest predator floating a little further back on top of an aquatic killer, the goat mind wasn’t exactly thrilled. I was though. //Be careful, we don’t know the full extent of this place’s defences. Who knows what the dark wizards have added?//

//Or anything the Ministry didn’t reveal to the public.// Ernie sighed, again so softly that it was almost lost in the sound of crashing waves. Still, he had a point.

No sense worry about that right now though. I reminded myself as we headed towards the shore, the bigger members blocking the force of the waves from me and making my stroll much easier while Anthony continued riding an elephant. It looked like the elephant had a toupee.

It was still a slow trek through harsh waves and rocky ground, but by the time us guys made it to the shore, nothing slowed us down. While the girls stayed back, waiting for Harry to clear out any need for magic on the first floor, Anthony, Jake and I ran in ahead of everyone else, travelling rocky terrain being our specialty. Getting through the door one at a time, we made it in just in time to see the stag Patronus chasing a few Dementors down a corridor while Harry was opening a large trapdoor, revealing a staircase.

“I’m dealing with the basement first.” He declared as he stag came running back and dashed ahead of him down the stairs. “If it’s emptied, we might be able to use it to seal away some of the Dementors. You guys should make sure this area stays clear and free whoever’s imprisoned.”

//Oh no, you can’t go alone.// Jake argued, surprising me a little. I hadn’t noticed it once before, but he just spoke with the same air of authority that Hermione does. The similarity had to be the only reason Harry didn’t argue. He was too used to having to concede to it. //At the very least, you’re taking two people with you, including Rachel. We can’t afford anyone to get caught playing the lone hero.//

“Fine!” Harry sighed in defeat as Rachel lumbered to and down the stairs before turning to me. “You wanna come Shay?”

//Sure.// Seeming satisfied, Jake followed Cassie and Anthony down the hall as I followed a grumbling Harry downstairs. We barely missed the moment when a Bison ran through the front door, followed by a rhino who brought the doorframe in with him and an elephant who decided to upstage the rhino by bringing in a huge chunk of the wall with a thunderous boom.

Reaching the floor, we had to stick close to Harry as his freshly lit wand was the only source of light, but it didn’t slow down our search much. There was wasn’t much to search.

//The basement’s just a storage space.// Rachel grumbled disappointedly as she looked around. The place was fill to the ceiling with barrels. A lot of them looked rotted through and all of them reeked.

“What is this crap anyway?” Harry grunted, scrunching up his face at the smell. Seeing that one of the barrels was open, he pointed his wand over it only to pull right away with a dark scowl. “It’s spoiled food! They haven’t even put any preservation charms on it!”

//You mean wizards basically aim to give every convict food poisoning on top of everything else?// Rachel cried disgustedly, a low growl leaving her muzzle and setting off alarm bells in my head. //Does this story of mistreatment ever stop getting more despicable or are the ‘good wizards’ really as bad as the rest?//

“No, it wasn’t this bad before.” Harry shook his head angrily, giving the barrel a good kick. “People have lived for decades in Azkaban. If they were given spoiled food they wouldn’t make it a year. The food was apparently substandard, but never this bad. Voldemort’s made it even worse here.”

//All the more reason to speed this up and get everyone out of here.// I stated firmly, already heading back up the stairs. //Let’s get back. After all, the others will need a Patronus and a stack of wands for the freed and right now, Harry’s the only one in our group with either.//

//Not much of a problem right now. All the cells were empty.// Neville called disappointedly as a loud crash shook the stairs. Panicking, I sped up my run, the others right behind me, and made it back to the first floor just in time to see Ax crush a Dementor between his head and the stone wall, leaving a hug dent behind. Taking a step back, he watched with a shocking amount of satisfaction for an elephant as the Dementor dropped to the ground and stayed there.

//Whoa! You actually managed to take down a Dementor? No one’s ever managed that!// I stated, watching with an equally stunned Harry beside me. Ax merely raised his trunk and gave out a victorious cry.

//Clearly, no one ever thought to fight them in confined spaces with something bearing the strength of a charging elephant.// He stated smugly. //My understanding is that only a very few creatures on Earth could withstand such an assault.//

“And Dementors are apparently not one of them.” Harry muttered with a grin as his stag took off down the hallway. “Good to know this area will be good and secure.”

//Can you guys please hurry it up!// Ginny suddenly snapped, sounding both annoyed and unnerved. //In case you’re forgetting, with all the Patronuses inside now, the Dementors are free to come at us and a few have already noticed us!//

“Oh, right.” Harry muttered before taking off at full speed, Jake motioning his head for us to follow him. They must have already found the next staircase. I quickly followed them and passed by Harry, Anthony, Cassie and a thundering Marco coming along with us while Neville, Ax and Rachel stayed behind.

//Harry and his light animal are now many meters away from the entrance. It is safe for you to come in now.// Ax announced, getting an irritated ‘it’s about time’ from Ginny. Still, you could hear the relief in her voice too.

//Will Marco be able to get up the stairs in that morph?// I asked, mentally frowning as we turned a corner. I knew enough about rhinos to know that they were grazers that lived in open plains and were extremely heavy. Your average staircase would give way under Marco, even if he could climb it.

//Don’t worry, going up will be fine. I might need a costume change on the way down though. We’ll see.// Marco replied nonchalantly. //Just tell me when we get close. I can’t see very well and I’ll need to slow down to climb.//

//Slow down now. We’ve reached them.// Cassie stated, pulling into a circle near the stairs only to scream as a wave of Dementors shot down. It figured they’d all be together down here. They were stationed to the second floor, but with no one imprisoned on the first and probably very few on the second, our minds would seem like an irresistible buffet to these emotional vampires, even if they were animal minds.

However, just as Cassie moved away, the stag Patronus jumped ahead, aiming its antlers right for them. Dispelling the head Dementors, it ran from one wall to the other a couple of times, keeping the Dementors far from us, before charging in again in circles. It didn’t take long for it to have them crashing into walls an flying away as fast as they could in all directions.

//They’re heading for the others.// Anthony muttered worriedly, turning his head back the way we came as the rest of us ploughed on.

//And when Ax, Rachel and Neville are done with them, they won’t be bothering anyone for weeks.// Jake responded reassuringly, already dashing up the stairs while Cassie swooped past over his head. //Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. Now come on, I can smell five people on this level. And a lot more Dementors. Marco, we’re gonna need you up front real quick.//

//You got it, Big Jake.// Marco stated, already following him up with Harry, Anthony and I behind him, Harry keeping his stag patrolling around the top of the stairs and shielding it from any more Dementors.

//Ok, coming through, out of my way, you freaky zombie wannabes!// He shouted, as he reached the top. He didn’t even wait for the rest of us, he simply charged down the hall, ploughing a hole right through the swarms of rotted skin and black fabric and trampling over however many were unfortunate enough to be forced to the ground. While none of them looked like they’d been killed, it was pretty satisfying to see every one of them, and a lot of the ones he barreled through and sent through the air, actually in a great deal of pain.

//One question.// Jake said as he followed along, grabbing a rising Dementor’s arm with his teeth and yanking hard, forcing it to crash back into the ground only to rise again. //Why don’t these things die?//

//You can’t kill what was never truly alive to begin with.// Was Anthony’s response as we followed Harry to the nearest cell and launched himself at the head of a Dementor as it bypassed the stag while it chased his brethren. Ramming my head into another one, I was stunned still as I watched. The wolverine instincts must have been dominating the moment, because he was ferocious, his teeth ripping rotting flesh from its face furiously while his claws were tearing through flesh so fast that all I saw was a blur and the gruesome result. If he’d done it to me, I’d be dead already, powerhouse legs and deadly horns or not. Seeing the Dementor about to grab him, I let out an aggressive cry and slammed my horns into its gut, knocking it back while Anthony dropped safely beside me. We easily managed to buy Harry the time he needed to open the cage and by the time we turned, a sickly looking man in his mid thirties walked out, taking a wand from the pile Harry held up.

“Will you help us free everyone else?” Harry asked as the man picked a wand, putting the rest back into his pocket. “Most of us breaking in are only any good fighting Dementors as Animagus. We could use more help with wand work.”

“I...I’m weak. And was never any good at fighting Dementors. And they’ve...” The man was having trouble standing on his own, even with Harry’s Patronus coming back to shield them. But that was expected. He’d been here too long. He’d been forced into constant, severe depression, fed spoiled food and staying with Dementors for extended periods of time drains your magic. You can restore it, but, like getting over the depression, it takes time away from them with warmth, healthy food and proper rest. This guy obviously didn’t have the strong will to bear through his time here. “I’ll...I’ll help open this floor’s cages. Then I gotta get out.”

//Guys, Marco and I found the stairs. We’re going up ahead.// Cassie called back. She and Marco had turned a far corner a while ago and I’d only just realised that I hadn’t seen them in a bit. //Five cages on your floor have prisoners, seven people in all. I’ll report in when I know the number on this floor.//

//Don’t go any further than that floor Cassie.// Jake replied firmly, worry evident in his voice. //Even rhinos can be overwhelmed and you’re only an owl. We don’t know how dangerous the middle, high security areas are going to be.//

Continuing on our way around the floor, Harry kept his stag up front, easily shielding us from and driving away all newly arriving Dementors while Jake, Anthony and I attacked those that remained or returned from behind, though no matter how hard I kicked or the others scratched or bit, they kept coming back. Amortal creatures are impossible to truly get rid of. Even the ones Marco brutalised pulled their bodies back in shape and pursued us again soon enough.

Fortunately, the sickly man was still sufficient with a wand. That meant that Harry didn’t have to split his focus from his Patronus and cage doors opened much quicker with him waving his wand wherever there were bars and destroying them. By the twentieth time he’d done it, we were more than halfway through the floor and joined by four of the other six people.

“Hand me one, fast!” A man, this one, though still looking sick and malnourished, proving to be in a far better condition as he thrust his hand out for a wand. The second Harry handed him one, he thrust it out and cast his own Patronus charm and unleashed an impressive looking squid the size of Harry’s stag behind us. It was almost comical to watch as it swung its tentacles around like nunchucks, batting away every sole sucking fiend that dared to get close.

“Very impressive.” Harry commented as we moved on, the other freed convicts destroying every other cage in the corridor and releasing another man and women who, like the squid guy, looked uncared for and weakened, but defiant. As the two approached, he absentmindedly held out the collections of wands and allowed them to take whichever felt friendliest to them.

“Not bad yourself kid.” The man shrugged, looking around the group. “Well, well, isn’t this a large number of Animagus. No way all of them did it legally though, unless you’ve simply transfigured your friends.”

“Nope, this was training for years in preparation for fighting Voldemort. The best weapons are the ones your enemy doesn’t know you have.” Harry responded.

//Everyone, Hork-Bajir landed on the roof! They’re coming down through the upper levels and we’re barely holding out against a freaking crazy number of Dementors!// Ernie shouted, fear and panic lacing his voice.

//Three Bug Fighters are landing outside the structure. Each will be carrying one Taxxon pilot and up to five Hork-Bajir warriors.// Ax added from below, only making us tense even more.

//Oh and by the way, the number of Dementors on this level is about three times as high as the last one.// Marco added, really scaring me. Just by that one sentence, you could hear he was being overwhelmed. If he was talking with his actual voice, he’d be sobbing. //Please get here fast.//

“Ok, we’ve reached the stairs up. Everyone on this level is free. Now I’m going.” The first guy saved stated, bringing us back to our location. Well, other than Jake. As soon as he heard Marco’s cry, he sprung up the stairs faster than a wolf was supposed to be able to run, an act that greatly confused the freed captives.

“There’s currently one of three fights going on down there.” Harry informed him sharply, grabbing his ragged sleeve as he went to leave, stopping him and two of the others freed in their place. “Five Animagus are fighting weird creatures no one can identify, looking like humanoid dinosaurs with blades all over their bodies. Two of the Animagus are underage and still have Tracers, which means we can’t have any magic used anywhere near them while they are here, otherwise the Ministry will send Aurors or Death Eaters right to us and make everything worse. If you don’t want to go help the others above, then you’ll need to stay on this level at the other staircase and wait for one of the others to lead you down.”

“Fine.” He agreed, the others nodding shakily behind him as they headed off once again.

“I’ll go with them. Shield them if the Dementors make a return visit.” The squid guy declared, following after them. That was fine. It was a really good thing actually, it guaranteed that this floor would be still more or less conquered territory when we came back down.

“So are you three coming up to help us?” Harry asked as Anthony informed those below of the squid guy’s group, nodding his head toward the staircase as a wolf’s enraged howl met our ears.

“Yes.” A woman no older than twenty seven nodded simultaneously alongside the stronger pair, both looking to be in their late thirties, early forties. “I can only make incorporeal Patronuses at the best of times, but I can still help free the prisoners.

“In the maximum security cells are forty two Muggleborns, twenty eight of them below the age of fifteen, some as young as six.” The other woman stated disgustedly, her knuckles turning white as she clench her new wand. “I’m not leaving until every one of them is free!”

“We were imprisoned for trying to save some of them. A Muggleborn woman and her two children.” The man added, looking just as ready for war. “We’re not walking away without from them now!”

“Then let’s move!” Harry exclaimed, already running up the stairs, Anthony and I racing ahead of him. “The others upstairs don’t have a single Patronus to help them.”

“Well now they’ll have three.” The man stated as both new fighters raised their wands.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” Now, I feel the need to point out again that these wands most likely hadn’t chosen this witch and wizard. On top of that, casting the Patronus Charm, even the weaker incorporeal version, was extremely difficult. Plus, these two casters had been in constant depression of the most unrelenting kind for who knew how long and it took an extremely happy memory and feeling to cast the spell. So you could understand why I actually stopped and watched in wonder as a silver ox and coyote flew right past me alongside Harry’s silver stag, both shining beautifully. It was a beautiful sight to see. We were talking about a talented pair here. Trio really, the squid guy was just as impressive.

With any luck, we’d find a few more people like them further up. If we did, we’d have a real chance at pulling this off. And if not...well, let’s just say that I don’t intend to let any of us die or be infested. Even if I had to burn this Godforsaken place to ground.


	20. Rachel

My name is Rachel.

To be honest, I was a little relieved when the Hork-Bajir jumped out of their hovering Bug Fighters and charged for the door. It actually relaxed my nerves a little bit. Not because I felt that we needed any more enemies or anything, but because this was normal for me. I was used to fighting Hork-Bajir. They brought a sense of familiarity with the danger. Plus, unlike the occasional Dementor that flew through the front door, Hork-Bajir actually stay down when I rip into them. They’re an enemy that I actually can defeat.

//These guys don’t make it so much as to the stairs.// I demanded, tensing in preparation as a low, threatening growl left my mouth. //The others have enough to deal with without them. Take them all down.//

//With pleasure.// Ginny said cockily, her form coiling right beside the door. I didn’t say anything, but I was proud and scared for her at the same time. She was keen to use her teeth and claws, to fight, just like me. That was good for a warrior in our situation and I liked it, but it reminded me too much of me. For just a second, I let myself worry about her falling into the same unnoticeable mental traps I did, learn to enjoy this too much and grow scared of who she was becoming.

But just as fast, the worry was gone and my own eagerness to fight resurfaced. Now wasn’t the time for concern of one’s mental health. Now was the time to fight.

The first step into the prison of the leading Hork-Bajir was his last, for while he was focusing solely on Ax, he never noticed the cougar pouncing. Crashing into the side of his back, Ginny sent him sprawling to the ground and sunk her long teeth into the back of his neck. The Hork-Bajir never had time to even see who was attacking him before he was dead.

Luna proved herself perfectly capable a second later against the second one to enter. Staring shocked at Ginny, he never noticed as an alligator appeared out of nowhere and threw up its open mouth.

“HRRAAAAAA!” Her powerful jaw almost bit right through its leg, above and safe from the leg blade, and jerked her head hard. The result was the leg coming right off and the rest of the Hork-Bajir fell back into his buddies. The move provided them a few seconds to back away, a good thing too, otherwise the next, much more prepared group would have sliced them to ribbons.

“BBBRRRUUUUUHHH!” Trumpeting away, Ax charged right at the door as the first wave poured in, however, he ignored them completely. Instead, he stomped his way right through their ranks, sending the seven of them diving to the sides, and slammed his head, tusks and all, right through the entrance as the next group tried to come in, sending another four flying back hard, two them gutted.

The Bug Fighters, using holograms to look like clouds, couldn’t attack. Strange creatures randomly appearing was one thing, and apparently not too uncommon in the Wizarding World, but highly advance alien ships flying in a place where it was still very possible for more, unimprisoned, witches and wizards to show up was extremely hazardous to the secrecy of their invasion. The same held true for any signs of laser fire. So, that left Ax relatively safe to stay there, where he grabbed another Hork-Bajir with his trunk and gave it a good toss, right into the last one and leaving them as mess of limbs and blades, cutting through each others’ flesh.

As that was going on, Neville and I made a charge of our own. Running on all fours, I ploughed into one Controller with all my weight and strength. Stunned, it hit the ground and laid there helplessly as I tore through its entire torso with a huge paw.

However, while I was doing that, another Hork jumped in and dug its wrist blade deep into my side.

“HHHHRRRAAAAOOORR!” Stumbling, I screamed in rage and turned to face it only for my first victim to grab my leg so hard that it pierced it with its claws.

Blood poured down my side and my leg. The pain would have sent a lot of animals running. However, it just made the bear, and me, furious. “HHRROOAARRR!” Thrusting both my front paws forward, I buried both sets of claws deep into the standing Hork-Bajir’s chest and didn’t even give him the time to register the pain before yanking him down onto his buddy. The momentum and the standing Hork-Bajir’s horns did the rest, piercing the fallen Hork through the throat, both of them dying within half a minute.

Neville had done much better than me. Lowering his head as he ran, he not only brutally ploughed into a Hork-Bajir with his battering ram head, his horns pierced its chest effortlessly and with mighty upward swing of his head, he sent it flying over his body and crashing into the one behind him while not losing the slightest bit of speed as he charged at his next opponent, this time crushing it between his horned head and the wall.

Luna moved in to finish what he’d started. The Hork-Bajir that flew was a wreck and slowly dying. Luna performed a mercy kill, digging right through its throat with one of her long claws as she walked over it, on her way to the other. The second was more or less ok and was climbing to her feet when Luna struck, jaw ready to maul. The Hork-Bajir responded in kind, jerking back and lashing out with her right wrist blade, cutting down the side of Luna’s face. Fortunately, it was too little for Luna. Alligator scales are strong and protective. The cut only just managed to expose some of the more vulnerable flesh underneath.

Unphased, Luna spun her body and crashed her powerful tail into the Hork’s legs, only for the Hork-Bajir to block it with her leg blades. But Luna was a determined gator and spun back around and barreled forward on her short legs so fast the unprepared Hork-Bajir fell stumbling back and, for once, became vulnerable. Capitalising on it, Luna grabbed her around the waist firmly, piercing countless holes into her flesh, and used the Hork-Bajir’s momentum to send them into a barrel roll, jerking her head the whole time. Let’s just say that the results weren’t pretty and even I welcomed the distraction as Ginny pounced between us, bobbing, weaving and slinking around the last two Hork-Bajir inside pulling off a frenzy with every blade on their bodies. At the same time a pack of Dementors flew over my head.

They didn’t stick around, considering there were plenty of human minds above that they could get a feed from, and I couldn’t stop them even if I could reach them, so I simply headed to Ginny as fast as my three good legs could take me there.

//Ok, this is getting really bad.// She gasped as a hiss left her feline mouth. A response to the tail blade sideswiping her shoulder. The resulting wound had her flinching as she leapt off to the side to avoid a t-rex foot to the head. //I’m tiring out. I think I need a little help.//

//Don’t worry, I’m right behind you.// I responded, taking note of her fatigue. The cat family makes for amazing morphs, but constant movement at high speed tires them out a bit. Ginny had been forced to move at full speed the whole time and the cougar isn’t Jake’s tiger, it made perfect sense that she might need a second to catch her breath. Fortunately, I could give her that.

Only waiting for her to weave around me, I reared up and flung both front paws out, clotheslining both unsuspecting attackers. You’d think with a ten foot grizzly coming up right in front of them that they’d split some attention from the kitty, but nope, they were too busy randomly throwing bladed limbs to notice their surroundings. Both of them choking as they crashed on their backs, my arms having caught them right in their serpentine necks, all their focus went to breathing and neither was capable of stopping Ginny and I from clenching our teeth around their necks. Breathing would never be an issue for them again.

The still breathing four outside seemed to be giving Ax a bit of trouble. As powerful as the elephant was, Ax was far from used to that kind of bulk and wall breaking strength. He fights as himself, an agile, precision type attacker. So the four much more maneuverable Hork-Bajir had a distinct advantage. The terrain provided them extra help too, favouring smaller feet.

Running after one, he was forever being caught in the legs by the arm and tail blades of two of the others, hindering his movement even more and giving his target plenty of time to get away while the fourth, being the previous target, would reposition his own attack, generally aiming for the back of the ears and neck. Ax would quickly responded, trying to get at the attackers, but his slow turns gave them plenty of time to escape.

//This would not be a problem if I had as little as my tail blade.// He muttered grouchily, though he did trumpet victoriously a moment later as he actually managed to send the next attacker aiming for his ears away with the blunt force of tossing his head.

//Perhaps they will be of assistance.// Luna mused as Ginny and I went out to help him, she and Neville staying back to guard the door.

For a moment, I thought that she meant us. However, that was quickly dispelled as the distinct screams and moans of Hork-Bajir filled the air.

//What’s going on?// I asked, growing very confused. Bears have weak eyes, I didn’t have a clue what was happening. All I knew was that that sound was horrible and it was draining all the excitement out of me.

//It looks like these blade lizards, or the Yeerks in their heads, who knows, has attracted the curiosity of the Dementors.// Ginny replied, slowing her run to a slow walk and rapidly turning her head from side to side as she sunk low to the ground. Signs of nervousness and caution.

Sure enough, as I got closer, even the bear started feeling a little unnerved and my vision finally identified the black robes and decayed skin of the prison guards. They had stopped moving, merely hovering around the Hork-Bajir as the aliens screamed and wallowed in misery. It was safe to say that either the host, the parasite or both were just as effected by Dementors as humans and with so many Dementors around, they couldn’t handle it. Suddenly I was well beyond glad that my grizzly morph had a non-sentient mind to hide behind. Even then, I still had a lack of cheerful memories that I could bring up and was missing all happy feelings. Their absence was enough on their own, without having to relive my worst memories and emotions over and over again.

//The Yeerks might deserve this...but the hosts don’t.// I sighed, feeling a little conflicted, if only for a few seconds, as to whether or not we should stop this. Ax and Ginny seemed to share my sentiment as all three of us moved in, around the ghouls and killed all four with quick bites and stomps, making it as quick as possible. The cold and upsetment, unfamiliar to the bear, intensified as the Dementors closed in more tightly around us, as if miffed with us ripping away their meal, but after a few minutes where they seemed to decide that our minds were far to insufficient for their needs, they took off through the door...only to come flying out again at top speed a moment later.

//What happened there?// Ginny cried, tensing again before taking off for the door herself. If the creeps were shooting out, than inside was the perfect place to be, to get away from their influence.

//A squid Patronus flew around the corner.// Neville answered, turning back into the hallway and away from the dead bodies. I guess he was uncomfortable with them. He wasn’t used to that particular aspect of war. Good guys generally try to take people in alive.

//A Patronus?// Ginny asked, freezing in her tracks and causing Ax and I to tense.

//If it approaches Ginny and Luna, will that not...//

//Yes Aximili, it will set off our tracers.// Luna acknowledged, though unlike the rest of us, she was once again completely calm. I was starting to wonder if an Armageddon unravelling in front of her would ruffle her feathers, nothing else seemed to. //But there is nothing to concern ourselves with. It stopped at the corner, far from us.//

//In that case, it’s a good news, bad news deal.// Ginny muttered as Ax and I followed her in. Personally, I was enjoying the extra light and current lack of Dementors it provided. //The tracers won’t go off, but Dementors can still re-enter this area. If they decide that our animal minds are the best that they’re gonna get...//

She left it hanging, but we all got the message. And though we only got a weakened dose of their effect, it still was more than I wanted to deal with, let alone them trying the kiss thing they apparently do on us.

//Let’s just hope the others can do their part quickly.// Neville grumbled, still looking anywhere than at the Hork-Bajir. Now that I was paying attention, Ginny and even Luna were hesitant to look too. But then, even I didn’t like looking. When killing and looking at my work felt ok and easy...well, I hoped that day never came. Especially when the bodies I see aren't of our enemy, but their innocent slaves.

...

Things got pretty easy for us from there. I guess the Yeerks saw what happened to their ground troops and chose not to send any more to our location. Bug Fighter sized clouds were still landing on the roof, but none were coming down here to where there was no defence from Dementors. And the few Dementors that came to us seemed to decide the little feeding they got from our minds wasn’t worth the assaults coming their way, even if nothing we did really seemed to hurt them too much. So, other than a demorph and remorph between the protective bulk of an elephant and a bison to deal with my bleeding wounds, there wasn’t much else for me, or the others to do.

“Is it safe down there now?” A voice echoed around the corridor about ten minutes later, startling me. I’d forgotten that where a Patronus was, the caster wouldn’t be far behind. “I got three people here who want off the island.”

//How do they intend to get off the island?// Ax asked, directing the question to Neville and the other girls. //I do not believe they have been informed of our method.

//Once they get roughly waist deep into the ocean, depending on their height, they could apparate away if they know how.// Ginny answered quickly, probably not wanting to delay the guy’s answer. //If not, Luna will have to help them to the boat.//

//Ok then. Girls, get ready to back away. I’ll go to them and lead them out.// I decided, already making my way. Ginny and Luna were quick to respond too, Ginny slinking down to the basement and Luna heading out the door, toward the water, in case she was needed.

Reaching the corner, I gave the group a soft grunt to warn them of my form, in case they hadn’t looked around yet, and slowly came around to find myself face to face with four people, none of them looking well at all and only one managing to display any kind of determination and strength.

“I-is it safe for us to go?” A particularly green looking man asked shakily. The poor guy looked like he was about to faint from fright as I nodded and jerked my head back the way I came.

“You couldn’t revert back to human?” The strong guy asked with a look of annoyance. I just growled lowly and lumbered on my way back, leading them down the hallway and all the way to the water.

The second we passed through the destroyed entrance, a number of Dementors swooped on the group, eliciting a great deal of screaming from the shakier three spellcasters, but a simple wave of the fourth guy’s wand had the squid surging right at them, its battering tentacles sending all of them flying away.

“How did you guys plan to come and go from this place?” The guy asked quickly, turning to me with raised eyebrows. Grunting in response, I turned my head and pointed to a ship you could barely see in the night with human eyes, letting the others direct me until I was pointing right at it. “So they have to swim.” He grunted right back, looking pretty annoyed.

//Well sorry, next time we’ll just leave you in that cesspool. Does that sound better than taking a dip?// I ranted, though I made sure only my teammates could hear me.

//Luna, it looks like you’re on.// Neville announced, taking over command.

“WHAT’S THAT?” A woman screamed, immediately setting everyone one high alert. Four wands and my claws were instantly directed to where she was looking only for me to relax and move slowly in the others’ way. It was only Luna coming back out of the water twelve meters down the way.

Grunting softly, scared I might just make some of these guys pass out, I pointed a claw at their wands and shook my head as I pointed another to Luna.

“That’s one of you...and is underage?” The last person in the group asked nervously as I kept repeating the motions, getting a nod from me in return. Moving on, I gave the weaker, fleeing three feather—like touches and coaxed them towards Luna while the tough guy moved away and went back to holding Dementors at bay. It didn’t take long for the three to get the idea and within minutes all three of them was holding on to Luna’s back as she swam back to the boat, a move that was only possible because of a feather-light charm they placed on themselves before getting in a dangerous range of Luna. Apparently being near or touching something or someone that was charmed wasn’t enough to set off the tracers. Good thing too, getting them all out one at a time would have been long and dangerous.

//I really hope some of the prisoners can apparate, float or swim really well, otherwise this could be a really big problem.// Neville muttered. It was a pretty annoying thought, one that I was worrying about a lot too. We didn’t really think this plan through. It was a spur of the moment idea and had a timeframe that was far too small, making us rush over details.

//It is not a major problem. If we must, we can have Cassie morph the humpback whale too. It would more than suffice.// Ax said calmly. I actually sighed in relief at that, a very unusual thing for a bear. Neville and Ginny seemed to be relaxing from their place in the ruined doorway too. Ax was right of course. I’d forgotten all about that morph. If worst came to worst, Cassie would use it. We would get everyone out, that was guaranteed.

Still, considering its size, the nature of the water level and aquatic terrain and how much we risked giving away with its appearance, I hoped we didn’t have to. The witches and wizards might not think it’s too strange with all the other Animagus running around, but the Yeerks were getting enough hints about us as it was. And even if they couldn't risk firing on Azkaban with the high probability that wizards would figure out that it wasn’t done by magic or human Muggle means, the same couldn’t be said about a large group of people riding a whale in the water.

After all, it was amazing that Luna’s current trip hadn’t put our boat in danger. We don’t need to make another, more tempting target.


	21. Ernie

My name is Ernie.

The Ninth floor turned out to be a bust, not that I was too surprised. While You Know Who gave a damn enough to keep the Muggleborns alive in this place to further torture, most other prisoners here were open game to the Dementors’ whims. Nine out of ten cases of Death had involved the Dementor’s Kiss. It was another reason why there were so many Dementors crowding around the few prisoners on the tenth floor. The ninth floor’s horde had to get food from somewhere.

It did work in our favour though. Claire’s owl Patronus proved to be more powerful than we thought. Taking advantage of the smaller space that was the opening of the stairwell, she had it circle around it constantly, effectively blocking the path of every Dementor up there. The distance would have drained it into non-existence by the time we’d gotten halfway down the ninth floor corridor, but by then...

“AAAAHHHHHH!”

“HHHHHRRRAAAA!”

“BBBBAAAAACCCKKKKGGRRR!” Needless to say, they found easier prey. And a lot more of it.

//Well, that was beneficial.// I commented happily, knuckle running alongside Hermione.

“What in the name of Merlin is that?” One of the men cried, caught between covering his ears and pointing his wand back the way we came. “What is up there? And on top of that, why are they up there in the first place?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Ron shrugged, flinching as another scream or twenty echoed down the halls. “Let’s just be thankful they distracted the Dementors and leave it at that!”

“Agreed.” Claire said sharply, quickly recreating her Patronus. “There will be plenty of dark creatures to worry about below without wasting time wondering what’s accidentally helping us above.”

//Truer words were never spoken.// I muttered to my friends as streaks of black seemed to appear out of nowhere only for the silver otter and terrier to drive them back. It wouldn’t help much though, not in here. Anywhere else, they’d flee with their tails in between their legs, but here, in their territory, they just regrouped and came right back. There was nothing we could do to stop it and eventually they’d all team up on us at once and seal us...

That’s it! //Hermione, Ron, seal them away!// I called, jumping up and down excitedly with a laugh.

“In case you’re forgetting, you’re an ape right now.” Gale said softly from Tobias’ back, staring down at me curiously. “If you have something to tell us, would you please change back and inform us?”

“Oo, oo, ya, yah!” I shook my head. I couldn’t do that, it would give away too much, both with our secret and my dignity. So, ignoring the mix of frustrated and confused looks the others were giving me, I walked over to a cell, forced the door open and pointed to the Dementors and back to the cell, repeating the movement three times.

“Seal away the Dementors!” Hermione exclaimed, smiling widely as she repeated my line. “Of course, it’s the only way to deal with them here. Great idea, E...Errol.” Her smile turned a little awkward as she caught herself and Ron raised an incredulous eyebrow at naming me after his family’s old owl, but fortunately the freed prisoners were paying it no mind. On the contrary, Claire and the fierce looking men were smirking quite darkly at the long line of cells before us, opening them all with a swish of their wands.

“We’ll need a few locking spells to neutralise their ability to reopen the doors.” The first man we freed, who’d told us his name was Alfred, mused, grinning down at his wand. “Maybe a few warding spells too. My specialties. You get them in, I’ll make sure they stay there.”

Everyone, even Tobias, looked overly keen and in some cases, a little evil as we kept going, not letting our pace slip even slightly. The Hork-Bajir’s horrific wailing wasn’t getting much softer, meaning that they were managing to make some distance against the ghouls, so we couldn’t take full advantage of the empty floor as we would have liked, but that didn’t stop us from putting our plan into action right away.

More Dementors sensed our presence from down below and a moment later, we had another ten surging hungrily right for us through the air. Moving with a synchronicity that came from years at each other’s side, Ron and Hermione flung their wands up and directed their Patronus right into the line of fire. The terrier instantly brought the Amortal beings to a nervous halt and before they could flee, the otter circled around right behind them. With two directions covered, the Dementors stalled in action, gathering together in between the two silvery apparitions. On either side of them was a cell, but none of them would move even an inch towards either one. They knew full well that they’d be trapped if they did.

//More are coming!// Tobias, braying loudly as he galloped right into the thick of it. His actions immediately caught the attention of the adults and had the stronger three running after him in a second, a silver eagle owl and two bright walls ahead of them, moving to box in the latest batch. However, Tobias stopped right beside the first, spun around and gave them a powerful kick before they could so much as turn to him. The blow sent them all piling on each other and flying right into the cell, Alfred immediately coming up and closing it before they’d even disturbed the dust on the ground. Raising his wand, he muttered a few words I didn’t catch, but had three different looking flashes coating the bars as the Dementors flocked at them. Too bad for them, by the time they reached the bars, Alfred was already backing away cheerfully and though they pushed, pulled and ploughed themselves against them, the cell door didn’t move an inch.

“Added an unbreakable charm to the bars while I was at it. Not too bad for a withered, old man.” He mumbled, looking pleased with himself. To be honest, it was amazing how stable these people’s minds were. To be actually be able to smile so much already! Then again, maybe the prospect of being free is overwhelming the damage. I don’t know, either way, it’s great.

Not willing to stay out of it, I broke another pole off a cell we wouldn’t be using and jumped in with a battle cry, slamming the metal into the second batch of scum. Moving aside as one of the other guys closed the door and cast his Patronus shield to block the doorway until Alfred could get to it, I charged forward again with Tobias and Ron as another group of six shot down the corridor, all of them easily suffering their brethren's’ fate as a terrier ran in circles around them and our raw muscle crashed into them. And with the terrier bounding back and forth by the closed cell door, they had no hope for escape.

“Now this is how the Ministry should had dealt with removing the Dementors from society.” Ron stated proudly with a dramatic nod of his head. “Seal them away in Azkaban.”

“Very true. But the Ministry would never have done it.” One of the men said gruffly, the tallest of us all with black and grey curly hair and beard. “That so-called ‘honourable government’ was buried under so much corruption that you couldn’t tell which way was up, even without You Know Who! Using Dementors was a way of terrifying people into staying under their control.”

“Despicable.” Hermione snarled from her place behind us, using her Patronus to shield us from the effects of the captured Dementors. “When this war is over, I’m joining the Ministry and I’m not going to stop until all the corruption is stomped out of it!”

“Normally, that would take more work than you could pull off in a lifetime.” Claire commented as her owl singlehandedly drove another three Dementors into a cage for Alfred to seal. “But, taking into consideration just how much damage our world looks like it will take, political reform might come easy simply because most of the old Ministry officials will be gone, one way or another.”

“I promise, it’ll happen.” Hermione stated fiercely, her face set. I believed it. I knew Hermione. Once that fire appeared in her eyes, get on board or head for the hills. Claire on the other hand, was perfectly happy to stare her down just as fiercely. However, after a few moments, something happened that almost froze me still. She smiled.

“Then I shall hold you to your claim, future Minister of Magic.”

Hermione merely stared at her, gobsmacked for almost a minute before beaming brightly. “Head of the Ministry. I could do a lot with a title like that.”

'Oh boy.' I thought to myself, shivering at the thought. Don’t get me wrong, Hermione would be a great choice. The problem was that she was probably too good a choice. Anyone around during her S.P.E.W phase would have a perfect understanding of what I mean. We may have to flee for our lives and sanity.

....

By the time we’d reached the stairs, half the cages from where we’d started using them held at least three Dementors. We were pretty proud of ourselves and actually managed to relax a little. Don’t get me wrong, the floor looked like something out of a horror story with an uncountable number of rotting arms flailing through the bars, but to see them behind bars instead of crowding and consuming us was a pretty sight in comparison and this meant that there were a lot less to deal with on the next level. And, even if the Hork-Bajir managed to get passed the still free Dementors above us, well, they’d be at the mercy of the prisoners’ influence through here. That ought to slow them down.

Tobias, once again carrying Gale and Alfred and this time, me, swooped down the stairs ahead of the rest again, immediately followed by the otter and terrier. Not that they were necessary, we seemed to have already captured all the Dementors in this quarter of the floor, there were none in sight.

//This has gotten so much easier.// I cheered, quickly jumping off Tobias’ back as we approached the ground and ripping a cell door open and letting out an excited cheer as I found three people inside.

“AH!” Ok, not the response I was expecting at freedom, but then, I was pretty loud I guess.

“Nothing matters, everything’s meaningless. Grey skies, always grey skies, robed monsters.”

//Um guys, these three seem mentally broken.// I called staring at the three worriedly as I slowly entered the cell. The one that screamed was holding her head, muttering ‘please end it or go away’ over and over again. She was shaking far worse than anyone from the higher levels and on the rare case that she actually opened her tightly clenched eyes, the look she gave me was wild, desperate and fearful.

That was much better than the others though. Her sitting cellmate hadn’t even seemed to notice that I was there. She was simply sitting against the wall, muttering randomly to herself about everything from the eternally grey sky, no hope, to salted fish. And the third...well, she had the a look that reminded me of Justin’s favourite Muggle saying: the lights were on, but nobody was home. I didn’t think that she’d been kissed, the Dementors would have offed her if she was. They can’t feed on the soulless, the torment the person offers is eternally festering inside the belly of the one who kissed them. It looked like she’d gone catatonic, another way people frequently died in Azkaban. Their minds couldn’t handle the constant misery inflicted on them and shut own. The Dementors didn’t care, so they wouldn’t give the victim any assistance in gaining the food and water they needed to survive into their systems and they died of dehydration and starvation. A very sad ending.

Landing, Tobias eased his passengers off and both ran straight into the cell, only to stop right beside me. For about a split second, then Gale moved slowly to the terrified woman while Alfred gently patted the muttering one on the shoulder, whispering words of reassurance into her ear. That left me with the catatonic one. Moving slowly, so as not to set off Gale’s woman and ruin her calming attempts, I gently picked the third woman up and carried her back to Tobias.

//Looks like you’re going to have to play pack mule for the rest of the mission.// I told him apologetically, raising her securely onto his back. //She’s completely unresponsive. I don’t know what we’re going to do with her after we leave here though.//

//Hopefully someone else will have a solution.// Tobias muttered, though I doubted it. On the run, forever having to move and dodge the enemy, no one would ever have the time to bring her back to reality. The truth was, we were probably only wasting time and energy and risking our safety taking her along, but there was no way I could leave her. If there was any hope for her, I had to try and save her. No matter the risk. She deserved just as much as anyone else and I refused to leave anyone behind.

The others had already caught up to us by the time we’d gotten the other two prisoners out of the cells, but Hermione and I were both hesitant to give either of them a wand. Gale’s girl wouldn’t be able to keep it in her grip even if we did, while the other was simply not resisting as Alfred guided her out, still spouting out random lines and not really paying attention to her surroundings. None of them would be of any help to us, they were only going to make things more difficult.

“Help all three up onto the Thestral.” Claire decided, already moving to Gale’s side as the shorter guy moved to help Alfred. “Gale, you go and stay up there too. Your friend here and the Thestral will need the help keeping the other two in place, especially down stairs and with our deteriorated bodies, the size and weight of the four of you shouldn’t be a problem.”

Gale nodded simply in reply and did as she was told just as a group of eight Dementors appeared and shot right for us, three from the staircase we’d just come down and five from around the corner leading to the next quarter of this floor. Fortunately, eight Dementors were no match for three corporeal Patronuses and within a minute all eight of them were residing irritably in the cell we’d just cleaned out.

“That’s bad.” I hadn’t seen that grim, foreboding look on Hermione’s face since the night Umbridge discovered the DA and it filled me with dread as I watched her stare back at the stairs. “The Dementors and...whatever they’ve been attacking above must be drawing closer to us. We’re going to have them coming at us from both sides soon.”

“And the reprieve we had on the last floor will be over by the time we make it halfway to the next turn.” The tallest guy stated, already opening every cell near us, two of which immediately had groups of four men and two women stumbling out as fast as their shaky legs would carry them, the two women being followed a minute later by another lady crawling out of the cell beside theirs. “Every Dementor on our way will sense and flock to us, like they did on our floor.” He continued as the newly freed people, all looking from mid twenties to mid thirties and looking less ragged and malnourished, made a beeline for the circle made by the slivery creatures. Excluding the crawling woman of course. It gave me a little hope. Obviously they hadn’t been there too long, maybe a week or two. They could very well be a great help.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“Please tell us you can get us out of here?”

“What do we do now? How do we go? Where do we go?”

“What is the plan?”

“Please, get us out of here! I don’t want to stay here anymore.”

“Quiet down, all of you!” Claire exclaimed, instantly calming the group as Hermione and I offered them wands, something they thankfully, but greedily grabbed for. “Everyone that has any talent with the Patronus Charm, get prepared, strong casters up front, weaker casters bring up the rear. If you can’t cast it at all, be ready to open cells, help out prisoners and seal in Dementors.”

“We’re heading down to our allies attacking the lower levels.” Ron declared as the newly free followed Claire’s orders, two moving to the back of the group with Hermione and the stronger two guys from the tenth floor and one moving up beside him and Claire, casting his Patronus immediately. The resulting racoon was very dull and darker grey than the real animal, the price of casting with a wand that hadn’t chosen you, but it would still provide more help than the silver mist barriers. The healthier woman not moving to the back aided her crawling companion to her feet and healed some of the infected wounds over her body. It didn’t do much, but it did allow her to put more weight on her legs, so she wouldn’t slow us down as much. “Once we get out the main entrance, we’ll head into the water. From there you can apparate once we pass the wards or you can swim out to the boat we have a little ways out.”

“Just bear in mind not to use magic on the first floor.” Hermione added as we moved on, picking up the pace as much as we could. “You’ll bring Aurors and Death Eaters down on us.”

Bracing ourselves, we pushed on right around the corner and had a few precious seconds to open the cell doors before Dementors about halfway down the corridor noticed us and shot right for us, more following behind them from the turn into the next corridor. There were so many that it looked almost as horrifying as the tenth floor did.

However, this time, with four corporeal Patronuses and four silver shields, all of which were stronger than Alfred’s, we felt nothing more than a near-constant cold chill, just enough to be deemed unpleasant as we set about locking more of the ghouls away.

We ran out of cells before we ran out of Dementors, but by the time we made it around the corner, the chill had been successfully removed and we had an all new line of cells, complete with five more people to save.

“Now this is what I’m talking about.” Ron cheered as the bar doors were all opened again, the raccoon and terrier already setting about corralling dark, Amortal creatures. “A little strategy and a decent supply of Patronus Charms and this place is a piece of cake.”

“Only because the Dark Lord never replaced the wards he destroyed when he saved his followers.” One of the men shook his head. “The Ministry didn’t see the point when he’d done it twice.”

“The Dark Lord only bothered to place new spells on the maximum security floors and they are very different from the original wards.” The woman at the back added as I moved to the five freshly surrounded in the protective embrace of the otter Patronus and held up my bag of wands. The looks of sheer wonder on their faces made me let out a happy laugh as they each chose one and immediately pointed it at the dark throng, one actually supplying a dull seal Patronus while another created more silver mist, albeit a bit dull, and the rest started ripping bars and stone from the walls, taking great pleasure in thrusting them fiercely into the Dementors’ heads and cheering for joy at the impacts.

“What do you mean by different?” Hermione asked, though she seemed to already know the answer. So did Ron and I for that matter. Judging from the stiffened form of the Thestral, I guess Tobias had a dreaded inkling too.

“Dark spells.” Was the simple answer. He didn’t need to say anymore, we all knew what he meant. The old wards were put in place to block access and either fling away or capture those who tried to escape or cause a breakout. Voldemort’s versions would be a lot more painful and likely lethal.

“I can work my way through the curses, given enough time.” Alfred said enthusiastically, eager to help. “Like I said, wards are my specialty. Naturally, I’d have some curse breaking talent for when I need them removed.”

“I’m not too bad myself.” Hermione grinned fondly. She was taking a liking to the man.

“Nor am I.” One of the men stated, the weak woman and the one supporting her both nodding along with him. “Hopefully our combined talents will be sufficient.”

“And if not, I am a healer.” One of the newest five freed called back between war cries and a barrage of concussion type spells. They weren’t doing any real damage, but it had to feel good bashing your jailors around the place. For a healer, she was really into it. “I can deal with plenty of wounds and after the first war, most dark magic sourced injuries are a piece of cake to me. TAKE THAT YOU SOULLESS PIECE OF CRAP!” She added as, with rapid snaps of her wand, a pole zigzagged brutally back and forth into five different Dementors before slamming two others into a cell that one of the men closed from a distance.

//Wow. It’s Hermione in thirty years’ time.// I couldn’t help myself, amused and impressed. Beside me, Ron was nodding, watching on gobsmacked and a little nervous while Hermione looked unsure whether to take it as a compliment or an insult. After a few seconds though, the look turned proud.

“I like her.” She stated matter of factly.

“SSSCCCRRREEEEEE!” I knew that the good mood wouldn’t last long. It was silly to get optimistic here at all. My blood ran cold as that screech met my ears, overlapping what sounded like a lot of legs running over stone and flapping robes. Tobias had tensed at it too, letting a shriek of his own leave his lips and terrifying the already tensing and nervous freed prisoners. And rightly so. There was only one creature I had ever come across that made a sound anything like that and only once.

//Beware, Taxxons have begun scaling the prison.// Ax shouted urgently. Yeah, you’re a bit late, Andalite. //And they appear to be ignoring the Dementors completely. After trying to eat them fails.// He added.

//Oh, of course they’d be unaffected! They eternally live their worst memories, never ending hunger. Of course they’d make an advantage out of that!// Tobias groaned, visibly twitching. //And I can’t fight with all these passengers!//

//Guys, Taxxons are a lot like giant centipedes that eat anything, meat, vegetation, even dirt and stone.// I warned Hermione and Ron, both of whom were worried, but confused. They’d never seen Taxxons before. //Be ready. They’re hideous and according to Anthony and Seamus, they move fast.//

“Everyone not casting a Patronus, ditch the Dementor bashing and be ready to fight back here!” Hermione ordered as the alien cries grew louder. All five of the new, violent recruits quickly followed her order while those beside her raised their wands and cast their Patronus Charms again, backing up her otter while the others kept up their Dementor capture plan.

I stepped up right beside them, growling menacingly. I was itching to see just how tough the chimp was and I’d felt completely useless for a while now. This was the perfect opportunity for me to deal with both feelings.

One flicker of an orange pincer and I charged right at it, startled gasps following me from behind. Not slowing down, the first three Taxxons locked right onto me and let out excited screeches as the gap between us closed, the first one throwing its gaping mouth right down at me.

However, before it could even come close I leapt for it. Grabbing one of the lower pincers, I swung myself around and onto its back, breaking the limb off and leaving the beast screaming in pain in the process, and used it as a springboard on my way to the second, throwing a powerful fist into it right below the mouth. It let out a choked scream as I spun my body and kicked off it with both feet, sending it crashing back into its brethren and me somersaulting right back to my first victim, sending it crashing into the ground hard as I rolled harmlessly away and back to my feet, smiling cheekily as I wiped Taxxon goo off my hand, courtesy of braking through the blubber of the second Taxxon. Though, I had to look away, repulsed, a second later as both downed Taxxons were swarmed by their own and devoured. Even as a chimpanzee, I had the urge to puke at the horrific sight, one I knew would be in my next five nightmares. The creatures were eaten alive.

“Cannibals.” I barely heard Hermione, but I did see the green tint to her face in the light of her wand. Her brow and lips were curled into a look of disgust, but anyone could see the horror in her eyes and the struggle to hold back bile. She, didn’t let it last long though. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths before turning to those around her, all of them looking just as sick. //“Make them bleed. They’ll do the rest.”// She ordered at the same time Tobias said it in my head.

By the time their wands were raised and firing Cutting Charms and Blasting Hexes, I’d already calmed myself with the help of the chimp mind and jumped back into it, grabbing my next opponent by the neck as it went to bite my head off and swinging it around before tossing it at its buddies, just in time to be cut to pieces and mauled. However, I got a knick myself as its pincer struck my side, just in the perfect place to make me flinch when I walked. And it was an open wound, matting my fur with blood.

//Oh crap!// Suddenly, I had the still living Taxxons’ full attention. Lucky me, the star of the carnivorous horde.

Grabbing the front legs of the one closest to me, I yanked up with enough force to have it falling back, screaming as the limbs broke off, and used the pointed limbs to pierce the next one, dividing the attention of the next five between the three of us while another four behind them were blown or sliced to pieces by the constant volley of spells. Not wanting to see any of the gore, I focused solely on the two Taxxons still coming at me, slamming one of them into the wall beside me with a jump and powerful backhand to the side of the head and threw an open palm into the other, sending it stumbling back into the three feasting on their own kind. Gritting my teeth, I grabbed two of its legs and ignored my screaming morality completely as I ripped them off and tossed them like javelins as hard as I could at another two Taxxons, piercing their blubber around the chest area. That made another three that would be consumed by their own kind’s mouths.

//Thank Merlin for the ape mind.// I mused as I pulled back from the carnage, the others having no problem taking down the rest while the silver otter swam overhead, scaring away the few Dementors following them. The chimpanzee was far more ok with this brutal assault than me. They are peaceful, fun loving creatures normally, but anything that’s seen as a threat was taken down with an aggressiveness that was scarily human. Hiding within the chimp mind did make the carnage and...killing a bit easier for me, but I think I was going to need a new morph for next time. I wasn’t ready to face this with a mental animal shield that was so close to human. Maybe the warthog would have been a better choice for this.

//We need to keep going. There will be more of them nearby for sure.// Tobias called as the last pair of Taxxons started eating each other. //And if they’re scaling the place, they may come in through the occasional windows and eat defenceless prisoners.//

“Let’s move everyone!” Hermione shouted, instantly taking command. Her face was still green and she looked like she could quite happily collapse into unconsciousness, but that didn’t stop her from pressing on. “I for one, would like to make some more progress before the next unpleasant surprise!”

Everyone was quick to agree and picked up the pace. A good thing too, considering that the team up front had already exhausted their supply of free cells and more Dementors were still coming.

That being said, the rest of our journey along the eighth floor was pleasant, considering where we were and all that had happened within an hour. We didn’t find any more prisoners on the floor until we’d almost reached the next set of stairs, the last cell right before them bearing two young men.

Unfortunately, that discovery didn’t make anyone happy. These two had been there back before any of those helping fight back had been sentenced to prison. Gale, Claire, Alfred, the healer woman, everyone we’d freed noticed them on the way to their own cells. They remembered that a lot more of the cells around here had been full too, but it was known to all what horrid fate had befallen them, even if no one was mentioning it. A fate I was sure was about to befall these two.

Their minds were as broken as the three women Gale was helping ride Tobias, both of them sputtering random lines and whimpering, not even noticing that we were there. And Tobias couldn’t carry any more passengers.

“What do we do?” The healer asked, biting her lip to contain her sadness and panic. “We can’t just leave them.”

“But if we take them, it’ll cripple the carriers’ ability to defend themselves. And there’s too much on the way down, we’ll need every fighter we’ve got.” One of the men said sadly, glaring at the ground as a flock of Dementors tried to fly up from the next floor, only for the owl, seal and racoon to block the way.

“We can’t leave them here and we can’t carry them down. That leaves us with only one choice.” Ron stated, his face hardening. As rest of us watched, he let his Patronus fade away and glared hard, raising his wand to the wall. “Have your Patronuses ready. Chances are a lot of Dementors are about to try to get in.”

“You’re not really-”

“Reducto!” Before Hermione could even try to dissuade him, he fired, blowing a large dent in the wall. For a second we all just stared at it, stunned by just how little the destructive spell had done. However, as soon as that second past, the faces of Ron and three other people hardened determinedly again and four wands were aimed right for the dent. “REDUCTO!”

The four of them fired spell after spell, forever deepening and lengthening the dent for a good minute until it finally exploded into dusts, leaving a hole more than big enough for Tobias and his passengers to pass through.

“Hurry!” Hermione snapped, thoroughly miffed as she guided Gale off of Tobias and took her place. Not that she was the only one. They’d just created a freaking door close to us for all the Taxxons and Dementors to come strolling through! And like all those bangs weren’t going to draw enemy attention? “We might as well get all five of them out of here now, so this will take two trips and we need to go as fast as we can.”

“We’ll guard the hole until you’re done. Then I guess we’ll just have to put some wards on it.” The oldest man with us stated, caught between exasperation and resignation at the stupidity of this move while two others were already firing stinging hexes at Taxxons swarming the hole and sending them falling to their deaths. “Though nothing will keep the Dementors out once we leave it.”

//No point worry about that now.// Tobias grumbled to me and the Gryffindor duo as he jumped through the hole and into the sky, a silver otter swimming circles around him and Taxxons that had tried to enter when he left plummeting below. The rest of us simply watched on and fired at whatever we saw while Claire continuously berate Ron and his helpers for doing something so foolish.

Still, as I slammed a fist down on a Taxxon’s mouth and pushed it off the side of the tower, I had to concede that I probably would have done the same thing eventually. I would never leave the people who need me behind and this was the only chance any of us had. If the consequence to guaranteeing that at least five prisoners from the upper levels escaped was more enemies finding us, then it was a price I was willing to pay. What’s a little more hard work with a steadily growing army by your side?

....

It didn’t take as long as I thought to get all five mentally broken prisoners to the boat where they were already being cared for by the gentle Chee and the woman who couldn’t walk on her own, seeing as she decided that she was more trouble than worth wandering the prison, and it proved to be a leg up. While it was true that more Dementors coming from behind us now, the wards successfully prevented all Taxxons from coming in, though they could get out, and without the other six, we were moving much faster. On top of that, Tobias was back in action on the battle front and was striking terror of his own in the hearts of Taxxons wherever we went. With the addition of our jailing method and finding eight more kinda healthy and very vengeful people, four of which actually managing to cast dark, corporeal Patronuses and the others appearing scary beyond belief with their offensive spells, moving through the seventh floor proved to be a cinch. There was the drawback of another five people babbling and comatose though and with great sighs of defeat, it was decided by all of us that we’d have to repeat the hole through the wall method if we wanted to save them too. Thus, we were once again throwing punches, hexes, Patronus Charms and everything else we had in three different directions while waiting for Hermione and Tobias to come back from their second trip.

“You realise of course, that, among many other things, the Dementor numbers are going to triple once we go down to the next floor, right?” One of the new rioters asked, scrunching her face up in extreme disgust and rage. “And there will be a lot of people mentally broken for sure. How will we handle all that?”

“With help from the group attacking below.” Ron answered as a few loud bangs and screams of multiple types of vocal cords echoed from below. We were getting close now. The halfway point of the prison and by far the most dangerous location of all. If we managed to get past the next two levels, then we were practically home free. And if not...

Well, I wasn’t going down without a fight. Even if we couldn’t all escape, I would make sure Tobias got my friends and as many other people out as he could while I held back our foes. Even if I had to demorph and seal my fate to do it.


	22. Cassie

My name is Cassie.

We were making pretty good time in this jailbreak, despite the ever increasing number of Dementors. The problem that we’d had before was almost instantly resolved the moment Jake appeared with no less than three Patronuses not far behind him. With the others, along with two witches and a wizard, rejoined the group, taking the third level had been made easy. With the others below us, not one single Hork-Bajir made it to us, so we were left with an uneventful trip through the rest of the third floor and managed to free another ten people, four of which joined us on the way up while another three chose to keep the level as clear as they could and one more levitated the last two, both in a horrible mental state, down with the intent of getting them to our boat, where he’d stay to help protect them.

It wasn’t until we were halfway through the fourth floor, and had freed another eight people, only two of which were willing to help us, the rest intent on either saving themselves or their broken cellmates, that the Taxxons had finally made it to us, forcing their way through weathered holes and the few, glassless windows.

//Now this is more like what I expected.// Seamus admitted aggressively as he rammed his head into a Taxxon’s gut. With most the witches and wizards focusing on maintaining either misty shields or animals of silver light, it had been left to us Animorphs to deal with the Taxxons, not that that was much of a problem. We were used to it.

Marco had taking to charging again, albeit at a slower pace this time. Throwing his horned head around, almost every Taxxon in front of us was either impaled or trampled under his feet, leaving disgusting piles of goo everywhere. Those that managed to avoid him were quick to become distracted by the squashed or torn body parts and stopped to consume them, making them easy prey for me and Jake. Jake leapt on any Taxxon he came across and tore at its throat or the top of the head just behind the mouth, taking great care to avoid the pincers so as not to bleed and attract them to himself. I on the other hand, chose to simply rake at their eyes with my talons like Tobias liked to do, blinding them and drawing more blood to attract their own before taking off into the relative safety of the air again.

At the back of the group, the wizard Animorphs had taken full advantage of the opportunity to test the abilities of their morphs and were doing great. Red and yellow streaks of light lit up the area as one witch from the second floor shot spells, blowing Taxxons ten feet back, ripping them open or causing their long legs to get stuck together, but the bulk of the opponents were going down to the much more physical assault.

Seamus was taking full advantage of every weapon he had. One second he was on one side of the room kicking a Taxxon with back legs so hard that it was blown into and ripped open by the bars on the cell doors and the next he was bounding to the other, slamming his horns into another opponent and jerking his head to rip its torso open and bounding out the way of a third enemy. He’d yet to take a single bite or pinch.

And Anthony, he was a whirlwind of teeth, claws and terrifying growls. They’d seen far more scary things in their lifetime, but the Taxxons almost looked horrified as Anthony came at them, ripping out a leg with a vicious jerk of his jaw before jumping up and scratching his way all the way up a Taxxon and jumping onto another’s back. There, he wasted only a few seconds, but by the time he’d leapt at another, his last target was bloody all along his upper back and screaming, at the non-existent mercy of his brothers as they moved to consume him. Many tried to eat or snap at the wolverine, but the small form kept moving far too quickly and evasively between its savage attacks for them to have a prayer of succeeding before they were wounded and consumed themselves.

“Diffindo!” The witch snapped, slashing her wands and getting the immediate reward of a Taxxon’s screams as its torso split open with a deep gash. “Diffindo! Diffindo! Diffindo!” Her face had turned even greener than before, but the moment she saw other Taxxons diving to eat the first Taxxon she cut open, she went to work casting her spell again and again wherever there wasn’t any sign of fur.

Between us, it didn’t take long to ditch the Taxxons, but no one cheered. The Dementors were still everywhere and more Taxxons would appear soon. It was only a matter of time.

And more importantly, we were about to hit the most difficult and dangerous point of this mission. The maximum security cells began just at the top of the stairs we were approaching.

//Tobias, Ernie, where are you guys at the moment?// Jake called as we gathered close together, Marco covering the front with Harry and a witch right behind him.

//About to descend to the sixth floor.// Ernie called back. //We’re just waiting for Tobias and Hermione to come back. We had no choice but to send a number of mentally unstable prisoners flying to the boat.//

//Good. we’re about to attack the fifth floor. Hopefully we’ll see you in five, ten minutes.// Jake replied.

“From here, we must proceed with the utmost care.” A man from this floor cautioned, glaring hard at the staircase. “I heard Death Eaters laughing about the traps placed on the next two floors and the treatment of the Muggleborns many times. Our fates in Azkaban are going to look pleasant if what they said was anything to go by.”

“We should always send something ahead of us.” His cellmate agreed, conjuring a handful of balls. “Most trap type spells and curses rely of pressure, magical signatures or movement for a trigger. Theses conjured balls are sufficient for all three.”

“Let’s hope it’s enough.” Harry muttered, glaring up the stairway and taking a deep, calming breath. “Let’s go.” With that, he strode straight up, his silver stag galloping before him and the rest of us right behind.

Taking a moment to rest my exhausted wings, I landed right on Harry’s left shoulder as he reached the top. So, with nocturnal eyes, I had the perfect view as the ground broke apart and a giant stone snake surged up, sharp, jagged teeth aiming to rip Harry in half.

“Protegto!”

“Reducto!”

“Diffindo!”

“Gallius Disruptus!” Ripples of air, flashes of light, booms and a fierce wind flooded the place in an instant and the stone snake’s strike was instantly ended as it seemed to hit a wall at the same time the light struck it and turned half of it dust while the rest was split in two and blown right down the hallway.

//What the heck was that?// Marco cried, letting a loud cry escape his mouth.

//Reanimation ward.// Anthony whispered, like he couldn’t believe what he’d seen. //Extremely advanced magic that crosses the principles of charms and transfiguration. The talent needed to pull that off is well beyond even Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. The Dark Lord had to have done that himself.//

//And it’s not the only problem!// I cried, drawing everyone listening back up front. So many Dementors were flocking toward us that it didn’t even look like an army of ghouls. It looked like a wall of darkness itself was shooting our way.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” Those who’d dropped their Patronuses to help with the snake immediately threw their wands up and unleashed all the silver wispy light they could as even Harry’s stag began to falter under the raw numbers. It took all four animals we’d acquired, one of our last recruits managing to summon a small, dark starfish, and two barriers of mist just to hold the swarm back. If we lost any of it, our defense from the biggest danger we had to face would fall and we’d be consumed in no time. And unfortunately, that left only us Animorphs and one witch to deal with every other magical trap set into this place.

“SSSCCCRRRREEEEE!”

//Oh, like we don’t have enough to deal with.// Jake snapped angrily as the familiar screech came up from behind us. Apparently more Taxxons had entered the prison and were coming up from behind.

“SHIT!” A wizard shouted, scowling hatefully over his shoulder. “Now what are we supposed to do?”

“Leave them to my friends! Try to get close to the cells, we need to hurry up and free everyone.” Seamus, Anthony and Jake were at it again before Harry had even finished speaking, but I paid it no mind. Instead, used every advantage my eyes gave me in this place to see into the nearby cells.

And felt a burning rage like none I’d ever felt before.

It was worse than I’d even imagined. The flying river of black robed ghouls was horrible enough, but the...additions to the cells...and the prisoners...

I realise that Marco would make a comment and the others would panic if they heard my thoughts, but the good for nothing slime ball who declared himself a Lord was going to die for this.

The prisoners in the closest cage couldn’t be older than eight. And if that wasn’t bad enough, they were chained to the back wall, barely able to move, looked on the brink of starvation and had numerous patches of long dried blood covering their bodies. They were all unconscious, but even that didn’t seem to free them from their pain and distress, their faces scrunched up in agony and their bodies frequently jerking, as if they were being jabbed by a hot poker. If I’d been human, I would have completely broken down and puked at the sight.

//Get them OUT OF THERE NOW!// I screamed, making everyone listening to me jump ten feet in the air, as I flew off and hooted erratically, making my fury known to everyone as I moved towards the poor victims.

“Oh, dear Merlin!” Gasps of horror and furious growls echoed throughout the area as the others registered what I’d seen, one of the witches running straight to the bars.

“AAARRRGGGGHHHH!” However, as soon as she touched them she whipped her hand away, her ear splitting scream blocked out every other sound in the building. Taking a look at it, I almost screamed along with her. Her hand was burnt black.

“Cursed doors.” The wizard who’d conjured the balls hissed, raising his wand. Muttering under his breath, he let his Patronus wisps die and shot three streaks at the cell, destroying half of it, ripping the rest of it to pieces and then rolling the remains into the cell, though careful not to touch the kids. “The cell looks clear, but you can bet those shackles are cursed too-Argh!”

Whipping back to him, I froze as a Dementor ripped him off his feet by his neck and tossed him to the ground where he stayed, the balls rolling free of his hands as I looked away. I didn’t even need to wait for someone else to check him, I’d heard the snap loud and clear. He was dead.

“Stay, focused, don’t let anymore through!” The man from the second floor ordered as his ox Patronus chased the killer back from whence it came as he turned to Marco. “And change back will you? Right now, we need more wand wielders to deal with the cursed doors and shackles, not animals.”

//Um yeah, that won’t really do any good.// Marco muttered snidely as he snorted.

//I’d help, but I transform to slow, it’ll be suspicious. Plus, they’ll ask why I’m naked and don’t have my own wand on me.// Seamus contributed as he kicked a Taxxon back down the stairs and Jake and Anthony ripped out the legs and throat of another, the last of them for now. Looking around, he seemed to gulp before grunting and dropping back down the stairs. //On second thought...//

//Oh, boy.// Anthony muttered, shaking his head down the stairs before running to the freed wizards. Clenching his teeth around fabric, he ripped the outer robe off a now startled wizard with one tug and tossed it down the staircase.

“What the hell was that about?” The guy cried, though he didn’t look back or wait for an answer. With his own Patronus Charm disrupted, he pointed his wand carefully at the children’s shackles. However, just before he could utter a spell...

“STOP!” The panicked scream had everyone stopping in their tracks, freezing in place as gasps and the jingling of moving chains met their ears from the next cell. The source of the sound was revealed a moment later to be a sickly looking boy about the same age as Seamus and the others. He didn’t look much better than the kids, but the blood on him was fresher and he wasn’t nearly as malnourished. Not to mention that he was conscious and clearly still spirited, his movements being hindered more by the long chained shackles rather than his injuries. He couldn’t have been in here longer than a few days. “All the restraints are cursed! If you unlatch them, then the skin they’d been touching will split open right down to the bone!”

//ARE YOU KIDDING ME?// Marco screamed, summing up everything I felt. If we tried to save them, we’d be slitting the kids’ wrists. The urge to puke swelled again.

//The Death Eaters would never of told them that.// Anthony said so quietly that I couldn’t hear him at all, though I could still make out the sheer horror in his voice. //For him to know that...//

I didn’t want to hear anymore. I wanted out of this God-forsaken Hellhole and I wanted to destroy the people who were responsible for its creation. This was too much, far too much.

“What do we do now then?” I woman whimpered, only growing paler as her Patronus Charm disappeared and the Dementors pressed even more greedily in on us. They’re powered by happy memories. It was obvious to all that the new set of horrors had removed her ability to hold onto one.

“Hope that’s the loophole.” The man muttered before raising his wand again. “Curses like that are usually very specific. REDUCTO!”

“What are you doing?” Harry cried while the rest of us screamed in fear. “You’ll kill them!”

However, it wasn’t a shackle that were struck. The spell left it completely untouched, colliding with and shattering the chain connecting it to the wall instead. The kid’s arm dropped, but rather than splitting open and leaving him awakening with a scream of agony, he actually gave out a whimper of relief. As the other chain was destroyed, he fell to the ground looking completely appeased, compared to a few moments ago. The pained jerking had stopped.

“See? Specific.” The man grumbled, letting a small grin cross his face as he repeated the process with the other two kids. “It’s only in the shackles. Destroy the chains, we can get some curse breakers or Goblins to deal with the curses later.”

“Oh, thank God.” The teenage prisoner sighed, his face radiating with deep relief as the light of the Patronuses brightened and pushed the Dementors a little further back, bathing him in their glow. An event that set Harry’s eyes wide with recognition.

“Justin?” He cried, running straight to the cage, the guy who saved the kids following just as soon as he and the witch with the burnt and now cleaned and bandaged hand had them levitating after him. “They got you too?”

“Harry!” The boy smiled excitedly as the wizard set work freeing him. “I should have known you were in this group. You think I would have recognised your voice or Patronus before now!”

“Well, we were both preoccupied.” Harry shrugged before another rotting creep broke through the Patronus shields and flew down to grab them. However, Harry was not one to be so easily distracted in a dangerous situation and grabbed his friend and dropped to the ground, leaving it flying harmless over their heads before being sideswiped in the shoulder that resulted with it making a nice imprint in the stone wall, courtesy of a rhino horn. “Speaking of which, care to help us out?” He asked, offering a handful of wands.

“Gladly.” Smirking, Justin grabbed one on the end, nodding at it with satisfaction, and pointed it at the black mass. “EXPECTO PATRONUM!”

“WOOHOO! YEAH!”

//Sweet, a good one!// Marco cried along with the witches and wizards, Jake howling happily behind him as silver light exploded out from Justin’s wand into the form of a finch. It was smaller than the other silver animals, but it was beautifully bright, shining as strongly as Harry’s stag and with it joining the ranks, the Dementors fell over themselves trying to escape, filling the air with the wild flapping of their robes. It was amazing just how much difference one little, corporeal Patronus could make.

“Wow, that’s impressive.” Harry grinned as we headed forward, only stopping to spare one more mournful glance at the guy we lost and grab the balls he created.

“Well, you were my teacher.” Justin grinned proudly, ignoring the limp of his right leg completely, though Harry was quick to notice and wrap a supporting arm around his shoulders. “And while I’m not particularly brave, happiness usually comes easy to me, especially when the Great Harry Potter comes to save me. Makes a Patronus pretty easy.” He commented, though the look of joy disappeared a moment later. In its place was look of sheer determination as his finch zipped left and right, dispelling Dementors and shielding the people in the nearest cages.

“What...Please help us!”

“Get me out of here.”

“Please, save my children. PLEASE!” It seemed that our hopes had been answered. Relief flooded my entire being as I stared around, watching the place actually come alive. As the silver light shone over their cells, every conscious adult awoke their cellmates and shouted. Their calls were for help, their voices were a little weak and scratchy and all of them were showing early signs of deterioration due to insufficient nutrition, but for the most part they were strong and determined, albeit extremely desperate. They’d be ok.

“Everyone, stay calm and be ready to fight and protect young ones.” The coyote Patronus bearing woman called, already destroying another cell door only to cry out and duck as the pieces turned to needles and shot out at us. It was only her scream as they transformed that warned the rest of us to duck in time, or fly to the ceiling in my case, a real struggle to do in a hurry with dead air. Marco failed to move in time, taking most of them in his side, but he barely felt them. Rhinos are extremely hard to really hurt.

//Great, now half of me looks like a porcupine.// He was fine.

“Different curses.” A wizard growled, glaring at where the bars used to be as another moved to destroy the chains on two women, one of which ran right to the floating kids and wrapped her arms around all three. Safe to say that she was their mother. “Probably at random too. No one in these cells was ever intended to leave after all.”

“Nothing we can do about it now. We’ll just have to deal with each one as it comes.” Harry called, getting nods of agreement from everyone as he handed the new two witches wands and the wizard released a few of the conjured balls. Good thing he did.

SHWWIINNNGG!

BOOM!

SNICHT! The results sent shivers up my hollow spine. A pendulum swung across the corridor from seemingly solid walls about five feet from us, a giant boulder dropped from the sky and crushed a ball ten feet away and around that, another one a had set off what looked like knives sticking out from the floor and walls.

//Well, at least we won’t need to worry about the boulder now?// Anthony muttered nervously, staring stiffly at the sight before him as the last surviving ball finally came to a stop...as a gargoyle at the end of the corridor burst to life.

“RROOAAARRRR!” Jumping from its place, it whipped out its wings and flew right through every trap and Dementor and dropped down at us, claws ready to tear and jaw opened wide, its sharp teeth set to tears us apart.

The wizards were quick to respond, just as they had with the snake, but none of their spells seemed to do a dent.

“MOVE!” Screaming, Harry flung his arm out and shoved everyone up front back and to the ground just as gargoyle crashed down where they’d been standing. Unperturbed by its initial failure, it got right up and lashed out again, barely missing us as we pulled back again and not even flinching as spells of five different colours crashed into it.

“How the hell do you stop this thing?” A Muggleborn witch cried, shielding the mother and her children with her body as she shot spell after spell. “The curses I’m throwing its way should have destroyed some of it by now!”

“It must have wards, though I don’t know what!” The burnt witch sobbed between firing spells of her own.

//I think...hang on!// With that Anthony jumped and scurried up Marco’s back as he charged, slamming right into the center of the gargoyle only to scream as he was flung back. Anthony however, leapt up onto its arm and ran up its back, ignoring the Dementors flying above it completely as the Patronuses were force to recede. //Found it! Protection runes.//

“What the hell is that one doing?” A wizard shouted, conjuring and flinging metal spears only for them to bounce of aimlessly.

//What do they do?// Jake shouted as he and I jumped and swooped respectively out of the way of the clawed hand coming down at us.

//Hang on, there’s a few and it’s dark up here.// Anthony grunted, digging his claws in to tiny grooves as the gargoyle jerked about trying to kill us. //There’s protection from...concussion, erosion, blades, raw magical energy...Merlin, this one hell of a well constructed rune circle.//

//So what will work on this damn thing?// Marco snapped irritably as he was knocked off balance and into a wall.

//Well, we can just keep firing until the magic reserves in the rune circle dry out, which will take a while, or maybe...//

“Anthony, get out of the way!” A very familiar voice shouted. One with a very distinct, Irish accent.

//Seamus? What are you do out of morph?// I asked, not sure if I was confused or exasperated as Harry, Marco and Jake all gave confused stares. That sure wasn’t part of the plan.

He didn’t answer me as he approached, not that I expected him to. Clad in the robe Anthony had stolen before, the hood up and covering his face, he walked right up to Harry, snatched a spare wand from the bespectacled boy’s pocket and aim it right for the gargoyle.

With three swirls of his wand, each one releasing small flames, he thrust it out and silently unleashed a vortex of fire straight the attacking arm of the gargoyle and blew right off.

“No way.” Justin muttered staring at the severed limb with in utter dumbstruck. Not that the rest of us were much better. Focusing hard on the stone stump of the lopsided and wobbling statue, I almost fell out of the sky. It was dripping liquid fire. Molten rock.

//He’s melting it.// I muttered in amazement as Seamus went on, ignoring the stunned looks the rest of us were giving his work as he moved on to the main body.

“RRROOOOAAAARRRR!” The stone behemoth’s rage filled scream echoed throughout the area, but none of us paid attention. Whether we were free in the corridors or trapped in the cells, everyone’s attention was solely on the spinning flames devouring not only the gargoyle, but every trap behind it, leaving nothing but ash marks and pools of molten rock and liquid metal behind. Even the Dementors were blown to the far end of the corridor, the robes alight, though being extinguished quickly once they were out of reach.

“Auuh.” However, it seemed to have a price, for as the flames began to die, Seamus began to sag and stumble, leaning against Marco for support. He did the job though, every trap was destroyed and by the time the Dementors had put themselves out, the corporeal Patronuses were halfway down the walkway with three other witches and wizards moving cautiously ahead to add their mist shields.

Everyone else however, was staring with open mouths as Seamus.

“Son, what was that spell?” The ox casting wizard demanded, staring back and forth from the boy and the damage he’d done while the burnt witch came back to her senses and moved to cool everything back into solid form.

//I take it that kind of power’s unusual for wizards.// Jake mused as he and I went back to business and ran or flew on. After all, with all that fire, we had to make sure no one was hurt. Fortunately, they all were held back at the back of their cells. It was a good thing because a lot of the bars had melted too. At least we would have to worry about their curses now.

//You could say that.// Anthony replied in awe. //Normally the wizards casting spells like that have at least reached fifty two.//

“It’s the Wildfire spell. The second most powerful fire spell in existence. Second only to fiendfyre.” Seamus muttered between gasps. Looking back, a bubble of concern started growing in me as his eyes closed. He looked exhausted. “But it’s power relies solely...on the caster...it’s one of the most taxing spells known and with the size and...length of time I did it...I don’t have another one in me.”

“Just rest mate. Catch your breath.” Harry smiled, looking very impressed. “We can take it from here.”

//Change back when you get the chance.// I added as I flew around a cell, hooting incessantly so one of the spellcasters would come and free a pair of boys I’d found curling up as best they could with their arms chained. //You’ll be back at full strength when you morph again.//

“I’ll do that.” He muttered with a nod as he let himself sink to the ground. Marco simply stayed in place, standing over the boy protectively as everyone else got to work. By the time we’d made it to the end of the corridor, we’d freed eighteen Muggleborns, half of them children who were being rushed down to the lower levels by two mothers, a father, the burnt witch, Jake and the Ox Patronus casting wizard and gained three more corporeal Patronuses, albeit dark and dull ones, not including Justin’s, and Seamus was back in his mountain goat morph. Marco had changed too, hiding in a now abandoned cell until he was ready to reveal himself as a wolf. No one had noticed Jake going with the last group, so they’d just assumed that Marco was Jake and the rhino had returned to his true form and gone with the kids. We just went with it. Rhinos weren’t going to be of much more use and couldn’t go down stairs, so this was the best opportunity to fix that problem and hide Marco’s identity and our secret.

//Look out!// I cried just as we turned a corner into the next hallway to find chains exploding from the walls. Fortunately, most of the group managed to scramble out of the way.

“RAAH!” Anthony was the one exception. Slightly ahead of the group, he’d had no chance of pulling back and avoiding them at their speed, so instead he’d weaved and leapt through the gaps between them, but before he could clear them, his foot was snagged and he was yanked hard back toward the wall. Right as the smooth stone started growing spikes.

//ANTHONY!// Seamus shouted, a panicked cry leaving his mouth along with the rest of us. Fortunately, a Muggleborn wizard was more reactive and waved his wand. By the time Anthony hit the wall, the spikes had turned to dust, leaving the new Animorph stunned and with what looked like a rapidly swelling ankle, but with no life threatening damage.

“Are you alright?” Justin called, severing the guilty chain with a flick of his wand and dropping Anthony onto his three good legs. The poor guy looked more than a little wobbly, but he did manage to nod and calm everyone as they destroyed the chains and looked down the hall.

“There’s no one down there.” Harry muttered, frowning deeply as he moved his eyes up to where the Dementors were trying and failing to weave and sneak around the five corporeal Patronuses blocking their way. The coyote had held back and was blocking the rear with the mist shields as those we left below and behind us tried to make a comeback. “And there aren’t any more Dementors than we were dealing with before. But you guys said that there were over forty Muggleborns.”

“Over two levels.” The coyote’s witch reminded him. “That’s not enough to fill all the cells on these floors. They may not be spread equally over them either. So it makes sense that some corridors would be empty of prisoners.”

//But not traps!// Marco cried as a witch walked ahead only for her foot to sink through the ground, trapping her in place as metal spears fell from the ceiling. Fortunately for her, the witch didn’t even have time to scream before Marco tackled her out of the way. She lost a shoe and earned herself a nice, big bruise on her knee, but they both made it safely past the spears.

“Thank you...wolf.” She gasped, staring with terrified eyes at the spears clattering around right where she’d been only a moment before.

“I think we might need this again.” Justin muttered, grabbing the only ball to survive the last hallway and rolling it down the new one and...wow. Swinging pieces of sharp metal again, gas that two wizards were quick to panic and blow away through the nearest, and only, open window and then, right at the end, an explosion had us all jumping in shock. When the Dementors moved out of the way, all we saw where the ball had been before was a scorch mark. And just as we were settling down from the boom...

“DUCK!” Even I dived and struck the ground, ignoring the pain and flattening myself to it as best I could as the far wall released a powerful flamethrower right down to the end. When it finally ended, everyone rising was pale and covered in sweat from the sheer heat given off as we watched the Dementors flailing to put themselves out again.

//Great. Fire was out friend before and our enemy now.// Marco grunted, grunting irritably at his singed fur. //And I’m now the not so proud owner of that burnt fur smell.//

//At least you’re not an extra crispy rhino.// Seamus offered, though he too looked rather irritated by the smell.

“We’ll have to move fast and carefully. Does everyone remember where each trap is set?” The coyote owner asked, getting shaky nods in return. “Good, then watch out for them and each other. There may still be more places where we can sink into the floor, especially around the traps.”

“But what about the explosion and the flamethrower?” Another witch asked frantically, paling considerably at the simple thought of walking in such a place.

“Flooding the area before we reach it will neutralise the Explosion Curse.” A wizard said calmly. “As for the flamethrower...be ready to duck is the best I got.”

//Shatter the wall.// Seamus called quickly, turning his gaze on Harry. //It’s just a variant of the Fire Maker Charm.//

//Probably enhanced and stabilised by runes surrounding the focal point that the flames erupt from.// Anthony agreed. //To make it happen frequently, the wall would have to be also protected from the heat, but you can’t let raw fire run free and block raw power. A Reductor Curse should do it.//

“Break the wall. Aim for the point the flames came from.” Harry quickly passed on, using his Patronus to clear a path to the target.

The others didn’t need to be told twice, within a moment everyone not using a Patronus was firing streaks of magic right through the dark flock that slammed right into the stone.

BOOM! The resulting explosion of stone actually sent tremors through the ground, enhanced by the string of explosions from the curse on the ground as the debris set it off again and again.

“Wow. Now that was a show.” Justin muttered, wide eyed, before turning to Harry with a grin. “We gonna send this place crashing to the ground next?”

“Don’t tempt me.” Harry grinned back, albeit a little sheepishly as he gave Seamus a look. “Let’s get going, we’ve still got plenty of people to save.” With that, we set off again, eyes wide and alert and bodies tense and ready to move.

It was relatively easy for me to get through. With my wings, I didn’t have to worry about sinking into the floor or any other curses set into it and while the others had to leap, dive and roll as swords and pendulums swung from the walls, I weaved around them with ease. Even the Dementors left me alone, not touching me even when the Patronuses had to retreat or flickered from loss of concentration, leaving me free to check around the next corridor while the others dowsed the floor at the end with water, cancelling out the explosions with a puddle.

//There’s no...Hey, that’s the others!// I cried, almost falling out of the air in shock. Sure enough, just at the end of corridor came Tobias running around the corner, a bunch of kids on his back and over twenty people behind him, including a bloody looking Ron, a chimpanzee missing a hand and a battered Hermione. And everyone looked panicked terrified.

//Guys, stop, there’s curses all through the hallways! You’ll trigger them!// I shouted, only growing more horrified as they didn’t even slow down.

//We’d love to stop, but we’re already in the middle of RUNNING FOR OUR LIVES!// Ernie shouted back wildly. It was then that I noticed every member of their group was screaming. And they weren’t the only ones either.

“SSCCCRRRREEEEEEE!” Not far behind them came dozens of Taxxons, all running as fast as their spindly legs would carry them. However, they didn’t show the slightest interest in the witches and wizards, a fact that could have filled me with a sense of pure dread all on its own. They were hell bent solely on getting away. For them to actually ignore their hunger, especially with people bleeding right in front of them, then that had to mean...

//We managed to get all the prisoners out along the way, NOW RUN!// Tobias shouted and this time it was heard by everyone. And not a second later I saw why. Following them was what looked like a dragon, a chimera and a bird. All enormous and made of dark flames. //Fiendfyre!//

//WHAT?// Seamus and Anthony screamed simultaneously as every other wizard and witch screamed.

“RUN!” That was the end of it. Like Tobias’ group, everyone ran like crazy, not bothering to take the time to be careful with the deadly curses and just jumping through them, though much more safely than the group coming up behind them.

//Why is the fire so bad?// Marco asked, though he and I had both taken the hint and ran for it. //With all of us together, couldn’t the wizards put it out?//

//No, fiendfyre is the extremely powerful, extremely hot dark magic.// Ernie shouted just as a series of bangs and shouts pierced through the hallway behind us and Tobias moved around the corner. //The ocean itself would have difficulty putting out those flames!.//

//Tobias, swinging blades! And everyone, hold your breath, don’t breathe in the gas!// I shouted, extending my thought speak to everyone. In the panic, they’d never register that the voice was in their heads anyway. //Be ready to blow it away and then dodge a pendulum!//

//How the hell did this happen?// Seamus shouted, his mental call almost being completely drowned out by the roar of the flames behind us and the chains shooting out at the beginning of the hallway again. //It’s impossible to set fiendfyre like a trap! It’s either there and raging or it’s not!//

//It wasn’t a trap.// Tobias answered, somehow managing to sound grave despite his open panic. //We were dealing with a hex sending pain through a man’s foot and another freed prisoner snapped when they saw an army of black widows coming our way. He was consumed with two other people as soon as he cast the spell.//

“KEEP RUNNING!” A middle aged woman shouted, the only person who seemed to be keeping a cool head as she shattered the blades shooting at them and repeating the process with the pendulum as a few other people dispelled the gas. “Stone and metal aren’t fuel for fire. If we can keep running ahead of it, the flames should soon die down. Keep casting fire resistant charms and water spells over your shoulders, it may not do much, but together it should by us more time.”

Hanging back just long enough to ensure everyone made it past all the still existing traps, I pulled myself into a circle and flapped as fast as I could to the nearest glassless window, only just making it through before the flames could incinerate me. My body temperature had sky rocketed and I had to get to the water fast before the sparks on my tail feathers spread flames up my entire body, but I was safe.

//Don’t worry about me. I made it out.// I called back as the flames started to grow. The last thing I needed to add to the list of nightmares we had going on was the others thinking I was fried.

And as I fell into the water with a nice, painful splash and started to demorph, the only thing going through my mind was a desperate hope that the others would be alright too.


	23. Luna

My name is Luna.

I believe pandemonium is the word most people use in our situation. I do admit, it was a little chaotic.

The nice, old man with the Patronus had headed back up to the top of the stairs connecting to the second floor and was leaving the area nice for when the others came down, but that left us with a lot of Dementors flying in both directions. Oh, and they were choosing to be more troublesome now. They seemed to particularly like Neville’s horns and were trying to take them for themselves. But that wasn’t the only problem. The intriguing centipedes were everywhere and with the door destroyed, it was tricky keeping them outside.

“BRRUUUHHH!” Standing in the doorway, Aximili was having a splendid time swinging his head from side to side. His tusks and trunk were holding the enemy back wonderfully, many Taxxons flew through the sky after saying hello to him. The few who didn’t tended to get squashed.

They were getting in easily at the sides of the doorway, safe from his reach, but Rachel and Ginny positioned themselves just as little behind Aximili. Rachel’s paws were brutal, ripping deep, paralysing wounds into their bodies, dropping them to the ground and leaving them for their not very nice family to eat. Ginny was zigzagging back and forth from the wall to Aximili’s foot, leaving deep claw marks in every Taxxon she could.

Behind them, Neville was running around like a frenzied bull, not even losing momentum as he collided with the Taxxons passing the other three. Instead, they either came along, bent helplessly over his head or impaled on his horns, were trampled or spun off to the ground as he moved on to the next one or crashed into a wall, killing and removing any victims he’d picked up before starting all over again. After sending one careening into its friend across the room with a kick from a back leg and slamming another one into a wall with his side of course. The only time he really stopped was when the Dementors were sent back by the squid and he had to wildly shake them off his horns.

I was staying further back. The Dementors weren’t interested in me at all, so unlike the others, I only had to worry about the Taxxons managing to pass all the others. Which was nice, because a lot of them did it.

The alligator mind felt a little cranky that I couldn’t fight them in the water, but it was still perfectly happy to help me stop them. Snapping my jaw around a chunk of unpleasant worm body, I forced myself into a roll that not only ripped the chunk right off the Taxxon and made it give a really fascinating screech, but it also forced it off balance and crashing to the ground. It knocked over a few others along the way, something that helped me as others began to their horrible plan to eat him. Digging my claws into them as I went, I climbed up one after the other as they formed a pile over my first enemy and snapped my jaw tightly over any Taxxon the tried to eat me along the way, creating new piles for me to carve my claws up through. Normally an alligator can’t climb like that, but their soft flesh made it easy for me to get a good, helpful grip.

“SSSCCCRRREEEEEEEHHHHHUUUUAAA! SCREE, SCREE SCREEEEEE!”

“BRRRRUUUUHHH!”

“GRROOOAAARRR!”

“RRREEEEOOOOWWWW!” We’d long stopped using thought speak, not really seeing a need at the moment, but verbal noises were constant. Especially the Taxxons’ right now, it was like a choir of Nargles calling for mates all around me. I wasn’t sure if they were feeling pain or cheering for joy for the chance to eat, only that they were getting louder. Or maybe my friends were just getting softer. They did seem a little droopy.

//AARRGGHH! Damn that stupid thing to HELL!// Rachel screamed, drawing my attention as I slammed my tail into a Taxxon’s side and knocked him off the pile, dooming his life as the rapidly snapping pincers of his friends cut holes all down his flesh. I thought she was talking about the Taxxons for a second, but then I noticed the Dementor twirling in the air and aiming an open hand for her head. She retaliated by biting down on it and forcing it right into the path of a Taxxon’s mouth. She didn’t let go until they were busy with eating other. Well, the Taxxon tried to eat it while the Dementor tried to kiss it. By the time the Taxxon gave up on it, Rachel had hurt two more Taxxons and had another two Dementors swirling around her. She looked like she was trying to swat flies dangling above her head.

Dodging a Dementor trying to grab her neck, Ginny pounced onto a Taxxon and up onto Aximili’s back before making a mighty leap again, sailing straight into a Dementor bugging Rachel and knocking it down far enough for a few Taxxons to snap at its cloak before leaping to the next and repeating the process. It did nothing to harm the Dementors of course, but it did leave them joining the bite and kiss dance the others had started. Dementors should buy some makeup. Maybe that would make them more attractive to Taxxons.

//More Taxxons are coming down the walls. They are moving at a much faster pace.// Aximili informed us irritably flinging another small group of Taxxons away with a strong toss of his head only to release an irritated shout as one bit his nose. Raising his foot, he went to stomp at another only to freeze as four others dropped from the stone wall onto his back...only to jump off of him without taking a single bite and run away, screeching frantically the whole way to and into the sea. //That is...astoundingly out of character.// Aximili commented, extremely confused. //There is no record in my people’s entire history of Taxxons fleeing from organic food sources. Not even Visser Three’s most horrible monsters can hold their appetites in check for long.//

//Too bad whatever’s going on isn’t having the same effect on the Dementors. GET OFF!// Neville shouted, ramming the latest one to grab his horns into a wall only for it wrap its arms around his neck. //AUGH! You reek! Get. Off. ME!// For a moment I wondered if he had too many wrackspurts in his brain. He was hitting his head and the Dementor into the wall with every word. It couldn’t be healthy.

“SSSCCREEEE! SCREE-UUH!”

//Ax is right. This is not normal.// Rachel grunted, actually sounding nervous for the first time ever. She must have been horribly troubled as the Taxxons we were fighting all stiffened and screamed before following their brothers and sisters back out the door. They didn’t even try to touch us. //I’m BLEEDING and they’re ignoring me! I thought that wasn’t possible!//

//Maybe someone’s calling them?// Ginny suggested as she dodged and twisted around the pesky cloak zombies, though she sounded just as shocked as the others and she clearlly did not believe her own words.

//No, they look terrified.// Neville grunted as he took to running in circles, black cloaks floating around behind him. Most of the Dementors were following the Taxxons out to sea, but a few were still rather interested in his horns and Ginny’s fur. One seemed rather intrigued by Aximili’s tusks too. //But what could spook them that much?//

//Perhaps Prince Jake has the answer.// Aximili said as a group of freed witches and wizards came around the corner to the next corridor with a wolf right in front of them.

//I know nothing, sorry.// Jake replied, seeming just as mystified as his group walked past him. //We had a few Taxxons coming in a window two corridors back, but they all started screaming and ran back out it. Terror’s never done that to them before. Guys, do you know what’s going on?// He added. He must have kept a link open with the group upstairs.

//YES AND RUN!// That scared all of us. It wasn’t just one teammate responding, that came from everyone morphed upstairs, from Anthony to Tobias. And in all my life, I had never heard anyone nearly as blindly terrified as each and every one of them were.

//WE’RE BEING CHASED BY BLOODY FIENDFYRE!// Seamus explained quite loudly. Though I guess that’s reasonable. If I wasn’t already an alligator, that would have made my blood turn cold.

//We’re currently blowing up a window in our path. We’ll jump out of it.// Ernie informed us, quieter than before, but sounding far more shaky. //You guys GET OUT NOW!// There’s the volume.

//I’ll get the guy upstairs.// Jake said quickly, already running back as fast as he could. He may not know what fiendfyre is, but the attitudes of the others made it rather noticeable that it is horrifying and deadly. //You guys go! Go, go, fiendfyre!// He added, howling long and loud as he let the witches and wizards, most of which were children, hear his voice. They didn’t even question it. They decided that losing all colour in their already sickly looking faces was a better idea and screamed.

“OH, MY GOD! RUN KIDS!” The adults were quite vocal. Enough so that the conscious kids, who had no idea what was wrong, started screaming quite spectacularly as they hobbled along on injured legs, the adults pushing them much too firmly for most of their bodies to take and leaving them falling and crying louder until the adults started levitating them. Not that the hobbling adults were doing much better. Most of them looked ready for a nice pillow and the good luck of a gnome bite.

//Luna, Ginny, get a good distance.// Neville ordered, Ginny already moving along. I quickly did as he said and headed for the sea. This wasn’t like the feather light charm on the people I carried before. The kids weren’t charmed to levitate, they were being held up and moved by a constant supply of focused magic that could set our tracers off.

//Luna, we will need you in the water.// Aximili exclaimed as I ran past him, stumbling a little on the high and rough rocks. //In the safety of the water, the Taxxons will regain their normal behaviour. You must stop them from attacking the wizards as they flee.//

//She won’t be able to do that by herself!// Ginny cried, dodging the low flying Dementors effortlessly as she maneuvered close to my side. Unlike me, her form was made for the terrain and she was moving with ease. //There’s far too many out there. She’ll be overwhelmed in an instant.//

Any responses were immediately put to a halt as a giant chunk of the building exploded, drawing everyone’s attention and shaking the structure. Oh, and I probably should mention that the it was right over the door and rather enormous pieces of stone were dropping quite quickly all along the path from the prison entrance to the water. Where the others were running or floating.

“SHIT!”

“MOVE IT!”

//Like we didn’t have enough problems to deal with!// Jake growled, swerving around and just managing to avoid a rather undesirable death, the jagged stone the size of a bear that intended to crush him still managing to ruffle his fur as he ran.

Screams filled the air and the disturbing melody only made our problems worse as it attracted more Dementors than before, though they were not enjoying the debris any more than we were. In fact, maybe it wasn’t much of a problem for us, for while we were still running, jumping, sidestepping and pushing people out of the way on the ground, the Dementors flew up and away. I suspect that the group of thirty or more people jumping out of the new hole and the Thestral flying away seemed like easier victims.

“BRRREEHHH!” A nicely large piece of stone was denied the experience of crushing a frail woman as Aximili rushed forward, picking the startled lady up with his trunk so as not to crush her and taking the blow to his back. the force was enough to make even his legs buckle and blood started pouring down his back the second the rock disappeared, but he kept going anyway.

“ARESTO MOMENTUM! ARESTO MOMENTUM! ARESTO MOMENTUM!” Looking around as a rock crashed into my side and sent my already off balance body rolling right into the water, I found a rather nice sight of everyone slowing into a gentle stop as they fell, most of the people casting the momentum charm repeatedly over the entire group while a group of the others directed beautiful silver or dull grey creatures at the Dementors, sending the unpleasant ghouls away and lighting the dismal area up a bit. Or rather, it would be a nice sight if everyone wasn’t crying and screaming for their lives. All well, at least the rocks had stopped falling.

“KEEP MOVING TOWARDS THE WATER!” Harry shouted, guiding everyone he could towards the sea as his stag galloped all around while the other Patronuses formed lines on either side of the group. “Once there, apparate or follow the alligator! She’ll lead you to a boat...that’s moving in close!” He added, a little perplexed. But sure enough, the boat was now in viewing distance. A quick swim.

“Take your pick and go!” Hermione shouted as she levitated rubble in Rachel’s path and flung it back up into the new hole in the building as the first wisps of the of the dark fire reached it. “We don’t have much time!”

With the flames shooting out of the hole and other open gaps as it spread through the entire prison, lighting up the area, the panicked screams of the freed prisoners were joined a second later by an uncountable number of unearthly howls as Dementors shot out of the building and high into the sky, all of them wearing a nice, toasty coat of fire. It looked like a volcano was erupting.

//This is our best chance.// Aximili informed us just as I made it to the water’s edge and ran in, immediately snapping my jaw around a particularly brave Taxxon and rolled him to pieces. At the same time, a fire dragon burst out of the roof of the prison and roared, spreading its fiery wings. //All the Dementors and flames will be blocking the heat and motion sensors of the ships above us. Now is the best time to gather everyone and make a quick escape.//

//Easier said than done.// Neville grunted as he leapt into the water, crushing a Taxxon I hadn’t noticed behind me with his front hooves while Ginny did the same beside me and I dragged a third into the mouth of its friend. //I can barely see and even I can tell you that these waters are infested.//

//And the blood we’re all releasing will draw them all to us.// Marco grunted as reached the waves with a group of people. //Not to mention any sharks in a five or ten mile radius.//

//Most won’t have to get far.// Anthony reminded us as he dodged around people’s feet and jumped into the tide. //Just far enough to pass the apparition wards. We’re the ones with the real problem, having to demorph.//

//Something we must do soon.// Aximili spoke up, a slight tinge of nervousness making it into his voice. //We have used approximately eighty two percent of our time in morph. In addition, I am growing quite tired.

//Then we should travel the shoreline and morph on the other side.// Jake declared as another three Taxxons came my way only for my jaw to rip apart one while my tail knocked another into the third’s mouth, causing it to eat it. I did pay for it though. I had to deal with the most painful experience of two inches of my tail being bitten and ripped off. I would have screamed if alligators could do it.

//Luna!// Ginny shrieked, pouncing over me faster than I could see and landing hard onto a particularly excited Taxxon surging out of the water beside me. “RREEOWW!” Her screech almost managed to block out the loud splashes as she thrashed around in the waves, clawing away at the Taxxon ripping at her flesh from under her. Her blood and the Taxxon’s was quickly joining the that of the rest of us in the water.

Unfortunately, the sight stopped a lot of the freed prisoners in their tracks and drew even more Taxxons back to the area. Screams began anew as the people succumbed to their panic and with the fiendfyre still burning strong behind them, the sight filled me with a rather large amount of anxiety, especially when a number of them raised their wands.

I didn’t even have time to think about the tracer, the fear of what those mentally shaky people could send my way running through me was more than enough to make me swim far away from everyone before the first shaky voice could utter a spell. Ginny and Neville were quick to follow as countless, multicoloured streams lit up the area. Their voices were so mixed and panicked that we had no idea what we were trying to avoid as we ran and swam away. All we knew was that it wouldn’t be pretty if any made contact with us.

//Anthony, move left!//

//Rachel, duck now!//

//Tobias, I would advise raising to higher altitude.// Ernie, Marco and Aximili’s cries were all quickly obeyed and it was all that saved their lives. Panic was the worst state of mind for these people, their actions were erratic and few were even bothering to aim. As Rachel flopped to the ground, Jake, Marco and Seamus jumped, weaved and crouched around the fallen debris, barely avoiding annihilation themselves, while Ernie was pulled back to safety by a shaky woman, one of the few to keep her head. The result was rather spectacular though. The roar of the crashing waves was amplified as the spells hit the creatures and the water exploded all around them, the droplets decorating the sky with the reflect light of the spells, like fireworks. The spells were fired again and again as all of us disguised as animals slipped away. It wasn’t until a minute later, as the sea revealed no more living Taxxons and the fire both in the sky and in the prison started receding that even Harry noticed our absence. He found Ax pretty quickly though, the only exception, as he loaded a few more people onto Tobias. Mostly unconscious people. He was looking each of us over, trying to make eye contact. At least, I think he was, I was pretty far away by that point.

//Get everyone to safety.// Jake called back. //We’ll provide our own ride back. Gotta keep up appearances and all.//

Harry and Hermione were quick to nod and instantly jumped back into it, quickly gaining help from a boy that I was sure was Justin Finch-Fletchley and some of the other more level headed prisoners, in herding the hesitant, panic ridden people on their way. Ron however, was far more hesitant and started following after us before Ginny released an ear piercing roar. Only continuing to growl at him, even after he stopped in place, Ron conceded to her wish and sagged. He only waited a few extra seconds before turning around and rejoining the others.

“GET MOVING! You can break down in mortal terror when we’re far away from here!” He shouted a bit too aggressively. I didn’t need to turn around to know that Hermione was already glaring at him, barely restraining herself from announcing her disappointment in what he just said. It worked though. Everyone was back to running into the water just as the Dementors were coming back down, free of fire. A number of them were swimming or being levitated towards the boat, Harry and the others included, but most were moving waist deep into the sea, grabbing someone else and apparating away.

//Luna, you must demorph now.// Ax said hurriedly just as we past the prison and made it to the far shore. //You have precisely four of your minutes before you are trapped in morph forever.//

//Oh, right. No problem.// I replied, focusing on my real face. By the time my body was encased in the water, my tail was already gone and my scales were softening into pale skin.

//You guys realise of course, that Tobias will stay back at the ship to demorph, Cassie’s not here and we’re going to be up two riders this time in place of Harry?// Rachel commented as the others followed my example and started changing back.

//And in waters that are a lot more likely to be shark and Taxxon infested no less.// Marco added, his fake, carefree voice polluted with worry. //It’ll be a lot harder to maneuver with just one person on our backs.//

//Oh, this is going to be terrific.// Ginny cried, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

//It gets better.// Seamus mused cheekily as the original Animorphs all caught up to my progress and reached about the halfway point to human again. //All our clothes are still on the boat and if you haven’t noticed, we’re all in one big group here. Better stay under the dark waves boys and girls, we don’t have time to separate.//

//You just HAD to bring that up, didn’t you?// Ernie snapped as a mortified whine came from where Anthony was adamantly keeping everything but his warping head below the water.

//Yep. Hey it could have been worse.// Even I could tell that if he was human, there would be a huge smirk on his face. //I could also have pointed out that with so many riders, some of us are going to be rubbing our naked bodies on more than just dolphin skin. Oops, I just did.// I don’t think he was very sorry. Oh, and Jake, Marco, Neville and Ernie all looked like they wanted to hit him. Ginny simply looked ready to murder him and Anthony just squeaked and sunk further into the water, even though he was still growing bigger.

“SEAMUS, SHUT UP!” Only Rachel, Aximili and myself didn’t shout at him at that precise moment. Rachel didn’t seem to care and Aximili never understood the problem to begin with. Personally, though I would rather not have to deal with this problem, there are worse options. Like staying in Azkaban.

//Guys, stop fighting and morph.// Cassie’s voice was completely unexpected, but I opted for doing what she said, kneeling on the rocky ground as the last few reptilian pieces of my body returned to normal. The others seemed to decide to look for her, but even they followed her advice. //A large school of hammerheads is swimming this way. I can hold them off for a good while, but you don’t want to be humans in the sea when the ones that slip by find you.//

“That settles it.” Neville muttered beside me, finally fully human. His eyes were shut tight and his shoulders suggested that his hands were in front of his groin, not that he needed to worry. Even with the remaining fire, the water was far too dark to see under it. However, what was really interesting was the fact that his hair was being sucked back into his head. “Luna and I will morph alligators. Luna, stop me if I lose control.”

“Ok.” Scales were already growing all over my body again. It probably wasn’t the best idea, morphing again. I was really tired already. But I suppose it was our best option.

“Oh, please don’t lose it. We don’t have time for a frenzied, reptilian carnivore on top of everything else.” Marco muttered, already taking the basic shape of the dolphin.

The time taken to shapeshift was the nicest we had on the island. The Dementors were too busy interrupting the other group’s escape plans to be interested in us. Seamus, Ernie, Anthony and Ginny were rather shivery, to the point where even Anthony let his sense of modesty and embarrassment go and leaned into Ernie’s offered side to share body warmth, and Neville did look ready to rip Ginny’s arm off for a moment, but other than that, we were fine. Five minutes later, everyone was set and we took off, the boys leaning a little more to the left while the girls drifted off to the side and Neville and I moved upfront. The dolphins were faster, but with a school of sharks nearby, it was better for their passengers if we were the first to encounter them. After all, we were deadly and the hardest to hurt.

Not that we need have worried though. Swimming around the island and back toward the mainland, I saw this most fascinating sight. In the direction of the open sea, an island actually leapt out of the water and crashed down into it right where flickers of light revealed a large number of dorsal fins.

“WHOA! That musta hurt.” Seamus shouted over the roar of the waves, a large, excited, teeth chattering smile plastered on his face.

//Most of the hammerheads are just floating around, stunned and, in some cases, bleeding from where their dorsal fins used to be.// Marco reported, sounding quite relieved. //We’ll be safe for a while, I think.//

//Then let’s take advantage of that and get the hell out of here.// Jake ordered, already speeding up and being followed by a startled Ernie’s scream.

//Aye aye, captain.// Marco cheered, sounding much happier than before. He must like being in the middle of the sea. Maybe he noticed some water fairies that are said to live nearby. He does have that sound picture trick they mentioned after all.

Whatever it was that caused it, those of us who weren’t focusing solely on being cold were in rather good spirits. We had freed a number of nice people and seriously damaged an ancient, quite unpleasant building.

It was pretty nice, really. Our work around Hogwarts seemed quite pointless at times. But this? Well, it was nice to make an extraordinary move. One that would affect everything from this day on. For this was monumental. From this one act, we have proven that the Dark Lord’s power is not as absolute as he wishes to make it appear. And we will have also proven that we are not the easy targets the Yeerks believe us to be. It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here.


	24. Ax

My name is Aximili.

By the moment that the Yeerks’ sensors would have been capable of detecting us again, we had already succeeded in returning to the mainland. Max knew of a town twenty four, point seven miles South of Azkaban and docked the boat in the harbour. Many of the freed people showed signs of wishing to run from there, however, Harry Potter and his friends convinced them to stay and accept the help an organisation known as the Order of the Phoenix could provide them. Normally Prince Jake, Marco and myself would oppose such a suggestion with the understanding that some of these witches and wizards were likely to be Controllers, however, in this case too many people needed medical, nutritional and psychological help. Without access to hospitals or their currency, they would never survive long without help.

While Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley helped lead the group to a less noticeable location, Erek met our group further down at rock pools separating the harbour from the beach. The others, particularly Neville, Anthony, Ginny and Ernie, were particularly happy to see him carrying towels and their artificial skins. Turning our vision elsewhere, we let each of our riders exit the water and grab two towels each first before demorphing and following after. One towel was wrapped around the usually covered areas of the human body, starting from the chest for females and from the waist for males, while the other was being used to dry their hair and still exposed sections of their bodies. Personally, I thought it was wasteful. They only needed to dry themselves. I will never understand the humans’ need to hide their bodies. Seamus was the only human I had ever met that didn’t care about hiding his form and even he conceded to doing so when the others pestered him.

“So, what happens to the prisoners from here?” Jake asked through chattering teeth as he accepted a towel of his own and used it to attack his hair. “Will they be ok?”

“The Order will have to work fast with the children’s Tracers responding to their healing spells and other magic, but yes, they should be fine.” Ginny explained as she grabbed her black outer skin from the pile, putting it on and holding it close of her bump ridden skin. An unattractive response human bodies have to the cold. “They’ll put a lot of them in safe houses with heavy wards, most of which were set up by Dumbledore before he died, while the others will flee the country. Once you get out of the United Kingdom and onto the mainland, the Dark Lord has little chance of ever getting you. The English Ministry only has power over the countries of the United Kingdom, not anywhere else.”

“As long as their mental states get better soon, there shouldn’t be many problems.” Neville agreed as Cassie, the last to join us due to the whale’s bulk keeping her deeper in the water, joined us on land and gratefully began drying off. “The question is, what do we do now?” He added, growing a lot more worried. “We’ve definitely been gone too long. The Carrows will already be planning our detention and it’s going to be brutal. Our excuse won’t cover this kind of time.”

“As long as we’re back before the sun’s up and there isn’t some great army banging on Hogwarts’ door, they can’t peg much on us, just a broken curfew.” Ernie shrugged, though I believe it was the kind that humans do when they’re faking nonchalance. “It won’t be much more than usual, if it’s worse at all.”

“And you call the Cruciatus Curse pleasant?” Seamus exclaimed as he ditched his towels and started throwing on his clothes, uncaring of the embarrassed and shocked looks and cries of the others. “Or how about the time Nev was hung by his wrists from the ceiling for a full day and open to whoever wanted to curse him?”

“I never said it would be fun, only that we’ve gone through it before. Well, most of us.” Ernie replied, his eyes lingering worriedly to where Anthony was shivering. “Besides, it can’t be helped now, and it is worth it. No point worrying about what’s almost guaranteed until it happens.”

“Give us a minute to relax and we’ll take you all back.” Prince Jake said tiredly, resting on the ground. “Then I want to find a nice, quiet place and sleep for twenty hours.”

“Then go back to the Grimauld place before flying home.” Ginny suggested, nodding thankfully to Seamus as he handed her all of her artificial skin. The boys were already in the process of putting on what I believe is known as boxers on while ensuring their...robes I think it was, continued prevent anyone from seeing their bodies. “Harry and the others will be fine with it, there’s plenty of room and it’s safe.”

“Sounds perfect. But let’s extend the time to sleeping for a week.” Marco muttered raggedly, only holding himself up from the ground due to the uncomfortable and sharp rocks surrounding us. “I’m pooped and I don’t want to have to do that geography report that’s due in four days.”

“Oh, drama queen. Don’t be so lazy.” Rachel retorted, though she sounded rather drowsy herself. “Besides, we can’t leave everyone back home high and dry that long. Most of them don’t even know we left.”

“Knock it off guys, I’m too tired to deal with your back and forth.” Jake groaned, forcing himself to his feet as the last of the artificial skin was put back in place on our new allies before turning to Erek. “Can you let Tobias and Harry know of our plans and meet us there?”

“Of course. Have a nice flight.” Erek nodded, regathering my friends’ artificial skin again and heading back to the ship.

We only spared a few more minutes before concentrating on our newest morphs once again. It took a little longer to get each wizard Animorph onto us than last time, particularly Seamus who was made to share a ride with Ernie due to being particularly exhausted, and we had to fly at a slower pace, but we still made it back to Hogwarts in decent time. Taking care not to fly into the wards surrounding the castle, we swooped low over the forest and landed as gently as we could.

“Are you guys going to be able to make it back to London?” Neville asked as the five of us returned to our natural states and immediately sunk to the ground. Decent timing or not, we would never make it back to London before our time in morph was complete. In the presence of our new allies was the safest location to rest our overly exhausted bodies. “We could just sneak you into the Room of Requirement for a nap.”

“No,...going into the castle’s to...to risky.” Cassie yawned, her eyes not even half open as she rested against a tree. “Don’t want Slytherins or Death Eaters finding us again.”

“And you guys are in enough trouble already.” Rachel grumbled under her breath, slouching over a groaning Prince Jake. “Just head on to bed. We’ll be fine.”

“If you’re sure.” Neville sighed, conceding defeat. Shaking his head at the issue, he crouched down in front of Prince Jake and raised his open hand in a human greeting they call a handshake. “Thank you for all you guys have done for us, or rather, our world. We’ll have to repay you when our war is over.”

“You’re welcome.” Prince Jake grinned, taking the offered hand in his own and shaking it up and down. Looking up, he let his gaze travel over all of our new allies. “Good luck here guys. Hopefully, the next time we meet will be in more pleasant circumstances. That being said, feel free to call us if you ever really need us.”

“Right back at you.” Ernie nodded with a grin. We waited only long enough for everyone to shake hands and offer best wishes before we started morphing Thestrals once more. Giving them one final goodbye, and the location of Tobias’ meadow in case they ever needed to contact us, we flew back up and into the night.

....

In comparison to our original journey to Hogwarts, our final departure from the mysterious, illogical and utterly befuddling castle was quite pleasant. There was none of the issue of time that all of our previous travels had beared either, so we were able to go at a much more relaxed pace. That being said, the moment that we had joined the others at the hidden residence, none of us were able to move a single step after demorphing. Fortunately, Erek and Max were waiting outside and carried us in.

I believe that humans say that they will sleep for a week in this scenario. That is preposterous of course, the body will not allow that, nor is it truly necessary to sleep for a whole human week. However, at this particular moment, I could understand where humans are coming from with this phrase. I too felt the urge to do this impossible act.

...

A week might have been preposterous, however, a day and a half was not. I did not sleep quite that long, merely twenty six human hours, but my human teammates were much more determined to stay in what they call a bed. By the time Marco, the last to rise, had come down the stairs to us, a rather unusual, small creature was already preparing a meal humans call dinner. Harry Potter called him Kreacher, a House Elf. They are apparently a species of sentient, intelligent, magical creatures that are naturally driven to serve people. They are willing slaves to wizards and to free one is taken as a disgrace to them. Ronald Weasley enjoys having him around. Hermione Granger is rather open with her dislike of the creatures living a life of slavery, but cannot assist Kreacher without insulting him. It was rather peculiar for an entire race of creatures to wish to be unpaid servants, forced to serve every order given them by their masters until they die or their master frees and disgraces them. I believe that there is a genetic mental condition being passed throughout the race.

“What smells so good and is it ready yet?” Marco groaned as he walked into the living room, his hair wildly misplaced and missing a sock.

“It will be shortly, don’t worry.” Harry smiled amusedly as Marco scratched his belly. It was understandable, of all the Animorphs, Marco’s appearance was definitely the most untidy. Rachel had come down looking like her usual, well kept self. Cassie was left with only a few wrinkles in her artificial skin and Prince Jake had a couple of strands of hair sticking out randomly. Marco however, best resembled a porcupine from his shoulders up.

“That gives you just enough time to find a mirror.” Rachel added with a smirk from her place next to Ron. They were playing a Wizarding version of chess. It was exactly the same, only the pieces moved by themselves and complained at Rachel when she put them in danger often. Not that they bothered Rachel much, she merely told them to shut up. “You look like you jammed your finger into a power socket.”

“No, I’ve seen people do that. They look a lot better.” Justin Finch-Fletchley called cheekily, looking up from the book on magical creatures he was showing Cassie with a mirth filled smile. He was the only one of the prisoners to stay with Harry. He was apparently a friend of theirs, one of Harry’s partners in Herbology and a member of the DA. He was a Hufflepuff too and Ernie’s best friend to boot, meaning that his level of loyalty was quite high. It was understandable that he would stay by Harry’s side, as Harry was the most targeted person of all, both by the Dark Lord and the Yeerks. He had only left long enough for Ronald to take him to a Bill Weasley to safely remove the shackles from his wrists.

A decent sleep and a few good meals already had him looking much better. Hermione told us that a nutrient potion she brewed and gave him will have helped as well, but it was mostly due to him not being a captive for very long. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll make myself look pretty again after I’ve ingested a horse.” Marco merely grumbled in response, throwing himself into a seat next to Prince Jake and Harry at the table. Hermione, Tobias and the Chee sat opposite them and I stood at the end of the table. We had been telling Harry and Hermione all we knew about Yeerk methods and trying to determine what kinds of weapons, technology and hosts would be used in the more heavily magical areas, such as the Ministry of Magic. The variety of spells that could be used and the interference magic caused for all technology made such places tricky to determine. Both were needed for the Yeerks to operate in such areas, so both would always be factors to consider.

“So just that we’re clear, Taxxons and Hork-Bajir are the only alien hosts that we have to worry about?” Hermione asked, looking up from the parchment and feather she called a quill she was using to write everything down. “There aren’t any others to worry about?”

//You might find some Gedds as well.// I answered. //But you will not have anything to fear from them in battle. They are the first hosts of the Yeerks. They come from the same home world and are willing hosts. However, this is because their bodies are disproportionate and their minds are extremely primitive. Without a Yeerk, they have difficulty moving properly, let alone surviving.//

“They’re basically monkey-like creatures with the arm and leg on one side of their bodies longer the other.” Prince Jake added with a shrug. “Unless they see you when you don’t want to be seen, they’re nothing to even consider worrying about. Mostly they stay down in the Yeerk pool or on the bigger ships and are used to clean.”

//Other than that, there’s only Visser Three.// Tobias finished as cleaned his feathers.

“Though there’s no guarantee that it will stay that way.” Erek warned us darkly, a fact that I could not have agreed on more. If the current hosts were declared insufficient for the capture of this world, they would bring in more unique species. Hork-Bajir were the Yeerks’ best shock troops and Taxxons were superior diggers and horribly dangerous with their appetite, but there were plenty of other kinds of hosts being used by the Yeerks and they were always finding more. They were all declared dangerous in their own ways. “Of course, that being said, even then you probably won’t see much of them, if at all. The Wizarding world’s too full of other interesting creatures they can take and is too mindful of the creatures running around it. If they want to stay unnoticed, then they’ll have to keep the level of irregularities to a minimum.”

//Plus, I doubt they’d do too well against magic anyway.// Tobias added nonchalantly.

“Ok, then what about other locations?” Harry asked, turning from me and Prince Jake to Max and Erek. “Surely they have more than three places to invade around here?”

“The others are focused more on the Muggle world, but yes.” Max nodded grimly. “There is of course, two major Yeerk Pools hidden under the furthest suburbs of London and a couple smaller ones a little closer to the main part of the city. They also have other bases hidden not far outside London, in the non-populated areas like forests. They’re mostly storage areas, landing/repair bays for ships and battle towers that will be used when the real war begins.”

“How?” Justin asked fearfully, drawing the slightly startled attention of everyone at the table. Shamefully, even I had not noticed his approach.

//The towers will be used mostly to ensure that nobody escapes the city.// I answered neutrally. //More will be made and hidden by holograms until the real war begins and then they will link up force field generators located at each base and the Yeerk Pools to create a dome around the entire city. This will stop all attempts to escape the Yeerks and prevent any chance of outside rescue. They will all be very well defended with soldiers and sensor weaponry.//

“So it’s best if we can find and destroy them.” Harry summed up as Hermione added all that was said to her notes.

“If I discover any locations, I’ll try to let you know, but don’t hold your breath.” Max said, offering the witch and wizards an apologetic look. “As pacifists, Chee ‘Controllers’ don’t get very far up the Yeerk corporate ladder and rarely are informed of anything that isn’t known by every Controller. We sneak in and hack our way to information or eavesdrop when we can, but we can only get so much.”

“Thanks Max. We’ll appreciate any help we can get.” Harry nodded with a smile, though it was a little strained. Understandable, dealing with the Chee’s pacifism programming is almost always very frustrating.

“Speaking of which...” Justin started, staring nervously down at his twiddling fingers. Biting his lip and narrowing his eyes, he forced himself to look up and right at Harry. “I probably already made it clear by staying here, but I want to help you guys in any way I can, both with the Yeerks and whatever you’re planning to do about the Dark Lord.”

“Wha?” Harry gaped, thrown off and a little flustered. “How do you know we’re planning something to do with Voldemort?”

“Oh please Harry, the whole DA’s known since Dumbledore died that you’d be up to something.” Justin responded, losing his nervousness as he rolled his eyes incredulously. “You aren’t the type to sit around and do nothing while the jerk’s sending us to a life of death and misery. Whether Dumbledore told you something, which a lot of us suspected, or you were just planning to do something brave, bold and stupid, we knew you were going to do something now that Dumbledore couldn’t. I wanna help you do it.”

“You do realise that all of this will put you in a lot of danger, right?” Harry asked a little desperately. It almost sounded like he was really hoping that Justin would change his mind. Judging from the annoyed looks crossing Hermione’s and Ron’s faces, I assumed that was exactly what he was doing. Denying help is a rather stupid move in my opinion, especially if it is coming from a genuinely trustworthy person.

“Please Harry, I’m already in real danger.” Justin snorted, giving Harry a look I have been told translates to ‘don’t be an idiot’. “You Know Who is out to get me already. You saw the paper yesterday, the entire Ministry is moving hard and heavy to catch every escaped ‘Mudblood’ and have them horribly punished. And the Yeerks want everyone. It doesn’t matter what I do now, so if I’m going to face that high possibility of death and torture, I want to at least be able to fight back. And I want to make sure that my friends and classmates stay as safe and well as I can. I can’t do that if I don’t come with you.”

“We could use the help Harry. And he is right, he has the right to fight and he couldn’t really be in much more danger than he already is.” Hermione agreed, looking at a troubled Harry a very firmly. “Besides, it’s stupid to think that we can handle both of our missions by ourselves. Just one may prove to be too much.”

Harry simply sat there annoyedly for a good few human minutes, mulling it all over. I believe his saving people complex was arguing with his common sense. His frown deepened the more he thought it over, it didn’t look like he’d come to a decision any time soon.

“He’s not fighting for just you either, Harry.” Ron called over firmly, finally turning from the board to stare piercingly into Harry’s eyes. “He’s fighting for himself, for us and for everyone else. In case you’re forgetting, it takes a lot more than one or two people fighting to get rid of You Know Who or the Yeerks. If you can fight, regardless of who or what you are, why can’t he?”

“I agree.” Hermione nodded, drawing Harry’s attention and staring at him challengingly. Between them and Justin biting his lip nervously, but still staring determinedly, Harry simply gave a sigh in defeat.

“You’re all right, of course. We could use the help. Thanks, Justin.” He admitted, still irritated, but smiling welcomingly anyway and getting a huge smile in return.

“Not a problem.” Justin said cheerfully, all his nerves gone in an instant. It was strange that he was such a happy person, especially considering where he was and what he was going through not forty eight human hours ago. Though, he did still have some jumpy habits and negative flickers in his eye now and then. Maybe he was hiding his strife. Either way, he was dealing with it very well.

“Well, if that’s the case...”Prince Jake started slowly, drawing everyone’s attention as he bit his lip thoughtfully. “And since he knows too much already anyway...” He added, nodding to himself. Seeming to have come to a decision, he sat up and walked over to a cupboard along the wall. Where Erek and Max had places the Escafil device.

“I thought I said no more of that.” Marco grumbled irritably under his breath. However, he made no move to stop Prince Jake as he picked it up. The rest of us simply nodded in acceptance as he turned and came back to us. He stopped right in front of Justin and held it up, the wizard simply staring at it curiously in response.

“If you’re going to help them, then you’ll need the help this offers you.” My Prince stated, smiling encouragingly. “This has many names, but the most accurate in my opinion is the morphing cube. It’s Andalite tech. Simply place your palm flat on one side and it will give you our power to morph into any animal you touch.”

“Seriously? Any animal I want? And it’s painless, right?” Justin asked excitedly, already placing his hand on the cube. This boy was much less hesitant and much more trusting than most of the other witches and wizards were, maybe even more so than all of them. Then again, he has already been through what my friends call hell. Perhaps that has made him less afraid of anything else. Either way, his face still lit up with wonder as the cube performed its duty, marveling at the sensation. “Wow, it tingles.”

“Yep. Now you’ve got it.” Cassie grinned, gently pull his hand away from the cube. “And yes, any animal, no matter how big or small, magical or not, and it’s completely painless. You feel it happening, but it’s more uncomfortable than anything else.”

“And creepy to watch and hear.” Rachel added brightly as she and Ron joined the group. “Congratulations, our new Animorph.”

“Thank you so much for this.” Justin cried excitedly, looking almost ready to bounce around. “This is so amazing. I can’t wait to try it out.”

“Just remember to follow the rules. And remember how amazing it is when you fall victim to the bad side of morphing.” Marco responded, dropping his chin onto his crossed arms and looking up at the excited teenager. “Wouldn’t want a magical guy cursing any of our names after all.” He added, his lips starting to form his usual sly grin.

“Just tell me all I need to know.” He grinned, taking a seat. Before we could however, Kreacher entered the room and, with a snap of his fingers, filled the side of the table in use with food Marco claimed was worthy of a five star restaurant. The humans quickly started eating, particularly my non-magical friends as it had been so long since they ate, and filled Justin in on all he needed to know between mouthfuls. The Chee stuck around too, but Tobias and I went outside. Tobias preferred to catch his own dinner and I simply chose to go graze.

That evening brought all we needed to do in England to an end. The new allies were in place, a major plan was foiled and our side had successfully added chaos to our enemies’ plans. It was about time for us to go home. After all, the Yeerks have not slowed down back at my friends’ home since we left and those we left behind are incapable to handle them on their own.

Prince Jake had already decided. We would go back on the first flight tomorrow.


	25. Epilogue

My name is Harry Potter.

The crowd of people at the zoo was nothing short of amazing. It was tricky to get to the barriers of most habitats, especially with the little kids forcing their way through the tiniest of spaces. So imagine how tricky it to do it invisibly and sneak into the exhibits.

It wasn’t our best plan, we all knew that, but it was the safest that we could come up with. That morning’s Daily Prophet had yet another front page story about the breakout of Azkaban and some of the information got a little close.

The out of control fire managed to cause a lot of destruction, and even an explosion that rocked half of Azkaban when it reached the rotted food in the basement apparently, however, all the guards on the roof were still alive and, after being treated in Saint Mungos, declared that a chimpanzee had been among the attackers. Doing the attacking. As well as identifying Hermione and Ron.

In addition, the fire failed to destroy all of the remains left behind. The Aurors found fur samples and large, insectoid parts. As such, the Ministry had declared that it was us and a team of either unregistered Animagus’ or that we’d transfigured our allies, as we’d hoped, but the Yeerks were likely to be a bit more suspicious. We quickly decided that returning here was too risky at night, so we’d have to do it in the day and use my invisibility cloak to get close.

Like I said, not our best plan, definitely one that could have been busted when the animals noticed us through scent or vibration, but if we wanted morphs that could actually fight, and we all knew we’d need them eventually, it was our best shot.

Ron had found it especially difficult. The habitat he’d just entered was a bit of a drop and if it wasn’t done right, he would have missed the small rock and gone straight into the water with a big splash, alerting both the spectators and his target of his presence instantly. And you really don’t want to be in the water when you confront a polar bear.

“Hey Mommy look, the bear’s falling asleep on his feet. I didn’t know you actually could do that!” A little girl cried excitedly, pointing at the bigger bear. It had been heading straight for a small waterfall before tilting its head...and growing droopy. Ron had sent it into the trance. It wasn’t the best moment on his part, a lot of the crowd was murmuring about the bear’s sudden drowsiness, but I wasn’t going to complain. It was a bear! You get it done quick or get eaten. He was lucky so far that the other two bears weren’t interested.

“They’ll forget about it in a moment.” Hermione muttered quietly beside me, her worried eyes never leaving the bear. “When it starts moving again, they’ll shrug it off, right?”

“Of course.” Justin nodded calmly just as the crowd gave a happy ‘whoa’ as the polar bear jerked back into realty and dived into the water. Ron was done and the bear had deemed his scent unimportant. Good.

“Yet another without a hitch.” I grinned as Hermione sighed quietly, letting her body relax a little. Ron was the last of us to acquire a tough morph, he was too picky. Hermione had been the first, knowing what she wanted before we even arrived. Expecting us to go with brutal type creatures, she decided to go for speed and grace. She was really happy to find that this zoo did in fact have a cheetah habitat. Justin was quick to follow her lead and ran straight to an aviary. The birds were tamed and the handlers were happy to let you touch a number of them. Ron, Hermione and I each held and acquired a grey and white owl, but Justin eagerly asked to pet what the handler called a red kite as it flew over his head.

Our next trip was back to the reptile house. That one was a fair bit trickier and we needed to make a little distraction as the only way into any of the habitats was to find and open a door behind them, but I still managed to go unnoticed as I acquired an anaconda. It wasn’t the greatest battler, something Ron pointed out, but I already had the alligator and you never know when something like a snake could be useful. This one was huge and their thin, overly flexible bodies can get where most other predators can’t after all.

Justin decided to get a big morph after that, so we set out to towards the back of the zoo. He quickly found what he called a widow maker and took my cloak from my bag before I could blink. He was in and out of the cape buffalo habitat before I could even determine what exactly a widow maker was.

“Well that was fun. Let’s not do that again anytime soon.” Ron muttered reappearing beside us as we walked away. He looked a little pale and his voice was a little shaky, but he was fine.

“You’re the one that declared you wanted the largest, toughest predator the zoo had, Ron.” Hermione reminded him with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, but I didn’t realise just how big and deadly they are until I was right in front of one with my wand stuck behind the cloak. That thing had fangs longer than my fingers!” He whined, holding up a hand in her face.

“Oh, stop it Ron!” She snapped quietly, knocking his hand out of her face. “I went in with animals that could kill me before I could blink and Justin jumped into a meadow filled with buffalo that have very short fuses and are possibly as dangerous as your bears and you don’t hear us whining!”

“Come on guys, there’s nothing to fight over.” Justin cut in jovially as Ron was opening his mouth to retort. “It’s a beautiful day, we’ve got what we came for, why don’t we just relax a little and enjoy the zoo now? You know, forget our worries for a day. I need to get some more sun anyway, it’s amazing how quickly that hellhole removes your tan.”

“Yeah. Why not?” I shrugged, smiling a little. He almost jumped for joy when the others agreed too and dragged us off to see the gazelles. After all, this place was much too mundane for a Death Eater to be around unless they wanted to cause very obvious chaos and the Yeerks wouldn’t be able to tell us from anyone else with everyone wearing hats and sunglasses. Besides, I knew he needed it.

I was pretty worried about Justin. So was Hermione, though Ron missed it. He seemed fine most of the time, but there were a few seconds here and there when he’d shiver or look ready to throw up. Plus, he hasn’t slept more than a couple of hours here and there since he was freed. I keep hearing him moving around restlessly at night.

A bit of true freedom, outside in the sun would do him good. I just hope that his decision to help us doesn’t end up causing a reversion to the state he’s hiding from us.

But I could worry about all of that tomorrow. Today, it’ll be nice to make some good memories with my friends. After all, who knows when we’ll get to do this again?

....  
My name is Neville Longbottom.

We were busted for being out, just as we knew we would be. Our excuse of getting lost in the woods was completely ignored, in fact, we were accused of planning a major act of rebellion. I guess it’s not that far from the truth really. On second thought, it’s a little too close. Fortunately, even by the morning when news of the prison break made it to the public and apparently got a thunderous cheer from most of the people in the Great Hall, none of them made the connection to our disappearance. Otherwise, we’d be dead by now.

Our punishment wasn’t actually as bad as we thought it would be though. For anyone else it would be bad, but it actually worked out pretty well for us. In some ways at least. We were stripped of our wands and sentenced to a dungeon cell for a week with only one meal a day. Normally that would be horrible, we were all in the same cell, it was the kind with a barred door and only the only time anyone came down to see us was when we were brought a meagre portion of food, once at night when the Carrows came to make sure we were still there and taunt us and the visit of the occasional rat. Pretty horrid for a normal person.

We however, were now Animorphs. And the rat that would creep the average prisoner out became our ticket to freedom.

Ernie caught it easily enough and all of us acquired it. Then we’d take turns morphing it one at a time, slip through the bars and head out into the school. While one of us was out, the rest of us would set their clothes to look like someone was in them and sit together in front of them, making it look like the mission prisoner was sleeping, just in case we had an unexpected visitor.

No one other than the Carrows could pass through the door to that area of the dungeons without setting off a magical alarm, but a rat had not problem at all. From there, Ginny and I had acquired owls and Seamus, Luna and Ernie had all acquired cats, allowing us to move faster and easier through the castle. Usually, our first stop is the kitchens, where we’d had some outer robes stored for us to put on and asked the elves for some real food before looking for Anthony.

That’s what I was doing now. See, unlike us, Anthony had a clean record with the Death Eaters, so they never really suspect him. Especially when Ginny, Luna , Ernie and I are missing. Apparently that hasn’t changed either thanks to quick thinking in the Ravenclaw boy’s dormitory.

Terry and Michael had noticed Anthony was missing and acted quickly, stuffing his bed with a pillow from each of their beds and one from Kevin Entwhistle’s vacant one and placed a glamour charm over them to make it look like Anthony was sleeping. In their rush and lack of care for the blond when there were two known troublemakers in the dorm, they barely spared the glamour a glance before declaring him present and moving on.

Too bad the others hadn’t thought of that. Even Seamus’ fairly clean record couldn't resolve the fact that he was out after curfew with us. Especially since he and I are so close.

It was apparently time for break by the time I left the kitchens and taken to the sky on my wonderful wings. Even if I didn’t spend so much time in a dungeon, flying on my own wings would feel like the ultimate, blissful freedom. I don’t like flying on a broom, but as a bird? It’s perfect. But I’m getting a little sidetracked.

It didn’t take long to find the free teammate. The only problem was the crowd of people he was in. Since school felt like prison, we all always spent as much of the little time allotted between classes we could to get outside. The main entrance was currently releasing a river of black that spread out all over the courtyard. Anthony was about halfway through it.

//Hey Anthony, find a place.// I called down as I flew off. He couldn’t answer me after all, so I figured I’d have fun exercising my wings. I managed to fly peacefully around the courtyard five times before Anthony managed to get past it and followed him on his way to a big tree. Taking a seat, he opened his bag and pulled out a book that could barely fit through the opening. I could never be sure if the books he pulled out when he met up with one of us were for the pretence of reading alone, him actually studying while holding up a conversation with us or were there as a safety blanket. Probably all of the above.

“Padma and Hannah have gotten most of the DA to settle down.” He muttered softly without even looking up as I perched on a low branch. He knew what I was and that I’d warn him if there were any eavesdroppers around. Owl eyes and ears are nothing short of amazing! “But it’s still pretty much running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Their arguments about whether or not to bust you guys out have simply been diminished to calm debates. They also want to set out on revenge on the Carrows, but everything someone suggests is declared too extreme or too insignificant. Slughorn still seems to suspect nothing.” He added before releasing a small sigh. Double checking that no one was around, he lifted his head for a few seconds to let his troubled eyes meet mine. “I couldn’t tell you if any of them have been infested in the last few days. Have any of you had any luck with that side?”

//Not really.// I replied irritably. Anthony was doing the best he could to watch over the DA and kept us informed of its actions and we spent a lot of our time in morph patrolling the castle for any signs of Yeerk activity. The problem was that our best advantage against the Yeerks had its drawbacks. Thanks to the portraits, elves and frequent use of most areas, finding moments when the Controllers would say anything that would reveal themselves or their plans to us was almost impossible. The best we could do was follow the Controllers we knew about as best we could and hope for the best. There was one thing that might help us though. //Have you talked to Zabini yet?//

“Um...no, I haven’t.” Anthony ducked his head further into his book in shame at that. “Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle have been hanging around him a fair bit, not that he’s enjoying it at all. I don’t want to risk triggering their erased memories yet. It’ll be safer when the memories are older, more distant.

//Fair enough, but try to do it soon.// I responded, holding back the urge to sigh. //Our current methods of gaining information aren’t working and he’s in the perfect position to spy on the most infiltrated house. We need his help.// As much as I hated to admit it. A Slytherin is a Slytherin as far as I was concerned, but the facts were the facts. He was a potential ally and a horrific potential enemy if the Yeerks got him. It was critical that we got to him first.

“I have Arithmancy tomorrow. I’ll try to talk to him then.” He nodded, flipping a page in his book. Our conversation had to end there as Terry and Michael were heading his way, so I took flight once again and started circling the castle for half an hour. It was a good time to be out, I was more likely to find Controllers having private conversations out in the portrait free grounds.

Though honestly, I was mostly focusing on enjoying the wind in my feathers. It’s not like any of our enemies’ plans were moving too far ahead right now anyway.

....

My name is Jake.

Fortunately, nothing seemed to have changed since we’d left home. Everything was exactly how we left it.

Thanks to the Chee, our parents hadn’t even noticed we were gone. What was even better, the one posing as me even did all my homework for the next two weeks for me. Sweet, one less hassle for a while.

The Yeerks hadn’t done anything particularly major either, just advertised The Sharing some more. Meaning no catastrophes to stop. We could actually come home and relax after being almost torn apart, burn, impaled and pancaked.

It was pretty nice. Pretty normal. Bantering with Tom, playing video games with Marco and doing a few chores my parents forced on me. Everything you’d expect of a normal life. The life I missed and longed to have back.

Yeah, it felt good, especially when combined with the sense of great accomplishment we got from basically destroying the most despicable place on Earth and freeing dozens of people. And on top of that, we now had a resistance on the other side of the world. That would split the Yeerks’ focus and give us a better chance of saving the world.

Things were looking pretty good right now. It’s an indescribable feeling to know that we weren’t in this alone anymore. But for now, that was as far into the invasion as I was going to think about. The Yeerks would make themselves known again sooner or later. Until then, I had a best friend coming over to play video games and I was determined to revel in kicking his butt.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all. I am doing a little editing, but this story was completed and up on another site many years ago, so you can expect frequent updates. Well, that all from me. I hope you enjoy it.


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